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How mantis shrimp evolved many shapes with same powerful punch

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How mantis shrimp evolved many shapes with same powerful punch. Duke Today, Feb. 27, 2015. The miniweight boxing title of the animal world belongs to the mantis shrimp, a cigar-sized crustacean whose front claws can deliver an explosive 60-mile-per-hour blow akin to a bullet leaving the barrel of a gun. A Duke University study of 80 million years of mantis shrimp evolution reveals a key feature of how these fast weapons evolved their dizzying array of shapes — from spiny and barbed spears to hatchets and hammers — while still managing to pack their characteristic punch. Picked up by the daily news feed of the National Science Foundation.

Models predict where lemurs will go as climate warms

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Models predict where lemurs will go as climate warms. Duke Today, Feb. 18, 2015. Climate change is likely to leave a lot of lemurs looking for new places to live on their island home of Madagascar. A Duke study predicts where lemurs are likely to seek refuge as temperatures rise between now and 2080. The researchers identified three areas on the island that will be particularly important for lemurs in the future, as well as key corridors that will allow lemurs to reach these areas from their current spots. Picked up by Scientific American, Science Magazine, Science News and BBC.

 

Distant species produce love child after 60 M year breakup

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Distant species produce love child after 60 M year breakup. Duke Today, Feb. 13, 2015. A delicate woodland fern discovered in the mountains of France is the love child of two distantly-related groups of plants that haven’t interbred in 60 million years, genetic analyses show. Reproducing after such a long evolutionary breakup is akin to an elephant hybridizing with a manatee, or a human with a lemur, the researchers say. Picked up by Nature and by National Public Radio.

Apes prefer the glass half full

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Apes prefer the glass half full. Duke Today, Feb. 11, 2015. Humans aren’t the only species to be influenced by spin. Our closest primate relatives are susceptible, too. For example, people rate a burger as more tasty when it is described as “75 percent lean” than when it is described as “25 percent fat,” even though that’s the same thing. A Duke University study finds that positive and negative framing make a big difference for chimpanzees and bonobos too. Picked up by the Daily Mail and Scientific American.

Humans, sparrows make sense of sounds in similar ways

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Humans, sparrows make sense of sounds in similar ways. Duke Today, Jan. 5, 2015. The song of the swamp sparrow — a grey-breasted bird found in wetlands throughout much of North America — is a simple melodious trill. But according to a new study by researchers at Duke University and the University of London, swamp sparrows are capable of processing the notes that make up their simple songs in more sophisticated ways than previously realized — an ability that may help researchers better understand the perceptual building blocks that enable language in humans. Picked up by The Herald-Sun, Wildlife Magazine and The New York Times.

Predicting superbugs’ countermoves to new drugs

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Predicting superbugs’ countermoves to new drugs. Duke Today, Jan. 5, 2015. With drug-resistant bacteria on the rise, even common infections that were easily controlled for decades are proving trickier to treat with standard antibiotics. New drugs are desperately needed, but so are ways to maximize the effective lifespan of these drugs. To accomplish that, Duke University researchers used software they developed to predict a constantly-evolving infectious bacterium’s countermoves to one of these new drugs ahead of time, before the drug is even tested on patients. Picked up by the Duke Chronicle, The Scientist and Time Magazine.

DNA sheds light on why largest lemurs disappeared

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DNA sheds light on why largest lemurs disappeared. Duke Today, December 16, 2014. DNA from giant lemurs that lived thousands of years ago in Madagascar may help explain why the animals went extinct, and what makes some lemurs more at risk today. Scientists have little doubt that humans played a role in the giant lemurs’ demise. By comparing the species that died out to those that survived, scientists hope to better predict which lemurs are most in need of protection in the future. Picked up by The Herald-Sun.

Laser sniffs out toxic gases from afar

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Laser sniffs out toxic gases from afar. Duke Today, December 3, 2014. Scientists have developed a way to sniff out tiny amounts of toxic gases — a whiff of nerve gas, for example, or a hint of a chemical spill — from up to one kilometer away. The new technology can discriminate one type of gas from another with greater specificity than most remote sensors — even in complex mixtures of similar chemicals — and under normal atmospheric pressure, something that wasn’t thought possible before. Picked up by NPR affiliate WUNC.

Same votes, different districts would alter election results in N.C.

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Same votes, different districts would alter election results in N.C. Duke Today, October 29, 2014. Researchers have developed a mathematical model that shows how changes in congressional voting districts affect election outcomes. Focusing on the last election, they show the outcome of the 2012 U.S. House of Representatives elections in North Carolina would have been very different had the state’s congressional districts been drawn with only the legal requirements of redistricting in mind. The researchers hope the study will bolster calls for redistricting reform in 2016. Picked up by The Herald-Sun, the News and Observer, and National Public Radio affiliates WFAE, WUNC and WFDD.

No single explanation for biodiversity in Madagascar

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No single explanation for biodiversity in Madagascar. Duke Today, October 10, 2014. No single “one-size-fits-all” model can explain how biodiversity hotspots come to be, finds a study of more than 700 species of reptiles and amphibians in Madagascar.By analyzing the distribution of Madagascar’s lizards, snakes, frogs and tortoises, researchers find that each group responded differently to environmental fluctuations on the island over time. The results are important because they suggest that climate change and deforestation in Madagascar will have varying effects on different species.

Anatomy of an avalanche

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Anatomy of an avalanche. 1,100 Words, September 30, 2014. By studying the forces inside granular materials like rice, coal, sand or snow as they’re squeezed, pulled or cracked, researchers hope to better understand phenomena like the jamming of grain hoppers or the early warning signs of earthquakes and avalanches.

Could suburban sprawl be good for segregation?

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Could suburban sprawl be good for segregation? Duke Today, September 23, 2014. Racially and economically mixed cities are more likely to stay integrated if the density of households stays low, finds a new analysis of a now-famous model of segregation. By simulating the movement of families between neighborhoods in a virtual “city,” Duke University mathematicians show that cities are more likely to become segregated along racial, ethnic or other lines when the proportion of occupied sites rises above a certain critical threshold — as low as 25 percent, regardless of the identity of the people moving in.

Lady baboons with guy pals live longer

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Lady baboons with guy pals live longer. Duke Today, September 10, 2014. Numerous studies have linked social interaction to improved health and survival in humans, and new research confirms that the same is true for baboons. A long-term study of more than 200 wild female baboons finds that the most sociable females live two to three years longer than their socially isolated counterparts. Socializing with males gave females an even bigger longevity boost than socializing with other females, the researchers found. Picked up by the Daily Mail.

Ancient swamp creature had lips like Mike Jagger

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Ancient swamp creature had lips like Mike Jagger. Duke Today, September 10, 2014. A swamp-dwelling, plant-munching creature that lived 19 million years ago in Africa has been named after Rolling Stones lead singer Sir Mick Jagger, because of its big, sensitive lips and snout. The name of the animal, Jaggermeryx naida, translates to ‘Jagger’s water nymph.’ Picked up by Science Magazine, NPR, NBC news, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, the Guardian, the News & Observer, the Independent, the Daily Mail, NBC news, the Duke Chronicle, Fox News, Huffington Post, the Telegraph, the Washington Post and The New York Times.

Tie-dye fly

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Tie-dye fly. 1,100 Words, August 29, 2014. It may look like a poster for the Grateful Dead, but these Day-Glo rainbow stripes belong to a fruit fly. Duke biologist Amy Bejsovec is studying the patterns that emerge during a fruit fly’s development from egg to adult — information that may help treat diseases that arise when normal development goes awry.

Water ‘thermostat’ could help engineer drought-resistant crops

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Water ‘thermostat’ could help engineer drought-resistant crops. Duke Today, August 27, 2014. Researchers have identified a gene that could help engineer drought-resistant crops. The gene, called OSCA1, encodes a protein in the cell membrane of plants that senses changes in water availability and adjusts the plant’s water conservation machinery accordingly. The findings, which appear in the journal Nature, could make it easier to feed the world’s growing population in the face of climate change. Picked up by MIT Technology Review.