A Beautiful but deadly frog that sings for its mate.
Here is what I am reading today:
“Researchers soon realized that some roaches had developed an aversion to glucose—the sugary bait disguising the poison—and that the insects were passing that trait on to their young. Now, scientists have figured out how this behavior evolved. Roaches, like other insects, detect taste through special receptors that line hairlike appendages on their mouthparts. The receptors differentiate between sweet and bitter flavors, which signal to the roach whether to eat or avoid the food, respectively”
“Variation in the colour of the eyes from brown to green can all be explained by the amount of melanin in the iris, but blue-eyed individuals only have a small degree of variation in the amount of melanin in their eyes. “From this we can conclude that all blue-eyed individuals are linked to the same ancestor,” says Professor Eiberg. “They have all inherited the same switch at exactly the same spot in their DNA.” Brown-eyed individuals, by contrast, have considerable individual variation in the area of their DNA that controls melanin production.
Professor Eiberg and his team examined mitochondrial DNA and compared the eye colour of blue-eyed individuals in countries as diverse as Jordan, Denmark and Turkey. His findings are the latest in a decade of genetic research, which began in 1996, when Professor Eiberg first implicated the OCA2 gene as being responsible for eye colour.”
“In April 15, 2013 Dove launched a 3-minute video entitled “Dove Real Beauty Sketches.” The video achieved instant popularity and has been watched millions of times — a successful viral campaign which has beenwidely talked about. In the video, a small group of women are asked to describe their faces to a person whom they cannot see. The person is a forensic artist who is there to draw pictures of the women based on their verbal descriptions”
“A team led by Manish Arora, an environmental health dentist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, hypothesized that it might be possible to detect when a child was weaned from the amount of barium in its growing teeth. Barium is an element similar to calcium and is present in water sources and many types of soils, explains co-author Christine Austin, a dental researcher at Westmead Hospital in near Sydney, Australia. Barium makes its way into both teeth and bone in small amounts. As a tooth grows, both dentine, which makes up the center of a tooth, and enamel, which forms its hard surface, are laid down in daily layers, which are clearly visible under a microscope.”
“In their new report, co-authors Liane Young, an assistant professor of psychology at Boston College, and Ezequiel Gleichgerrcht of the Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Favaloro University in Argentina, address two key questions related to moral decision-making: First, what specific aspect of emotional responding is relevant for these judgments? Second, is this aspect of emotional responding selectively reduced in utilitarian respondents or enhanced in non-utilitarians?”
“”There has been great interest in finding compounds that mimic the benefits of caloric restriction that could be used to delay the onset of age-associated problems and/or diseases,” said Luigi Puglielli, MD, PhD, who studies aging at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and was not involved in this study. “If proven safe for humans, this study suggests such a drug could be used as a preventive tool to delay the onset of neurodegeneration associated with several diseases that affect the aging brain,” Puglielli added.”
15 Comments
karlyalysonchapman · May 25, 2013 at 2:20 pm
Response to “You Are Less Beautiful Than You Think”
This article was extremely surprising for me in many ways. I definitely would agree with the Dove campaign’s message of people rating themselves as less attractive than what others would rate them as. Therefore, it was very interesting to read that the message isn’t “you are more beautiful than you think” but rather, “you are less beautiful than you think.” In this research, the findings showed that people actually rate themselves as more attractive while rating strangers pretty accurately. In other words, we as humans overestimate our own characteristics while accurately guessing strangers’. After reading some more examples from this research I started to see how this fact actually does pan out in everyday life such as “drivers rate themselves as better than the median driver. Of college professors, 94 percent say that they do above-average work.” When looking at my own life I can see areas in which I have done this but still, I was shocked to see that the message the Dove campaign sends is really wrong when investigated with more research.
karlyalysonchapman · May 25, 2013 at 2:28 pm
Response to “Blue-Eyed Humans Have A Single, Common Ancestor”
This article blew me away. Being an individual with blue eyes, this article grabbed my attention, but I was not ready for the information that I was going to read. I had no idea that “originally, we all had brown eyes” but what gives people blue eyes is all due to a genetic mutation. I found it super interesting to realize that the blue eye genetic mutation is so exact on the OCA2 gene because if that whole gene is destroyed then that would result in albinism. This shows just how precise many of our structures and systems are or operate which is extremely fascinating. It was odd reading that all blue-eyed people originate from the same ancestor because there is such a small degree of variation in the amount of melanin in their eyes. It was also hopeful reading however, that although blue eyes is a result of a genetic mutation, it is a mutation that is neither positive or negative for the survival of the human race!
mathesonbliss · May 25, 2013 at 10:29 pm
I found the ‘You Are Less Beautiful Than You Think’ article interesting. I have seen the Dove ad where the women compared sketches of what they think they look like compared to what others thought they looked like. I have always wondered if anybody had described themselves as prettier than another person did. It doesn’t surprise me all that much however, that we think of ourselves as better looking than others would rate us. I feel like it is a mechanism to make us more confident which could help in everyday tasks and within relationships. I thought it was funny that as I was reading the second half of the article I was thinking that I probably was above average in the areas of driving, working, and health. I guess I am among the majority that think they have accurate self-assessments…I should have seen that one coming.
ncamat · May 27, 2013 at 10:00 pm
We were just talking about the cockroach story in one of my classes. When you first read the article it seems crazy to think that a non-human is able to learn, but if you think more about it there are many animals that are able to learn. For example, some spp. of birds learn to migrate to a more desirable climate and bacteria spp. are able to become resistant to antibiotics.
ncamat · May 27, 2013 at 10:05 pm
I’ve always been curious about how eye color is determined. It is interesting to consider that blue eyes came from one person. That makes me wonder how that one person got blue eyes and how the trait managed to stay within the population and spread.
mparisi · May 28, 2013 at 9:36 am
” You are less beautiful than you think”
This is just a personal opinion, but I think that these studies that are done to measure how we view ourselves don’t have much reliability. There is no way to generalize how they entire population views their appearance…we were all raised in different standards and have our good days and bad days in terms of confidence. Trying to generalize people as thinking they are “uglier” or “prettier” based on beauty sketches or computer simulations on a given day doesn’t seem logical to me. Rather, if the studies concluded that a certain population, for example, age 20-30 caucassian females in san luis obispo, and first identify what they consider “beautiful”, then maybe these studies would hold more accuracy.
“blue eyes came from ancestor”
This caught my attention because my brother and I look completley different from our parents. My dad is Italian with dark skin, brown eyes and black hair and my mother is American Indian with dark skin, brown eyes and black hair. However, my brother and I both have light skin, blue/green eyes and brown hair. I find it interesting that blue eyes came from a single ancestor years ago. Even though eye color is considered a genetic mutation that doesn’t have to do with survival, I think that our culture is more attracted to light eyes, so it may influence who we approach as our future mate.
Hannah · May 28, 2013 at 2:47 pm
Response to “You Are Less Beautiful Than You Think”
I love that Dove campaign, and I am shocked to learn that people tend to over-estimate their own attractiveness. Although the author of the article mentioned that people overestimate their attractiveness in all regards, I still see the tendency for people to have lower physical confidence than behavioral confidence. In a society when men are compared to super athletes and women are compared to supermodels, it is easy to downplay one’s own physical attractiveness. On the other hand, I do believe that when we evaluate our own “resumes” (really anything we do in life – our jobs, personality, alma maters, etc), then we tend to gloat and think very highly of ourselves.
As the author of the article states, thinking highly of ourselves isn’t necessarily a bad thing, so long as it is kept within a decent range of modesty. But I also think that the Dove campaign – whether it is scientifically accurate or not – does a phenomenal job of getting people to see their inner and outer beauty. We definitely need more of that in America.
Hannah · May 28, 2013 at 3:02 pm
“Reducing caloric intake delays nerve cell loss”
I would like to learn more about this study and understand “how” caloric restriction actually enhances memory and reduces neurodegeneration. I could see how the junk food humans eat (genetically modified and/or filled with unnatural chemicals) could lead to nerve cell loss, but I do not understand how restricting calories in mice can have this effect. It almost seems counter intuitive because glucose feeds the brain, and when there is a glucose deficiency, cells can begin to starve and cognition is weakened. I am excited to follow this study and learn more about it as more research is conducted.
christina.pschorr · May 29, 2013 at 10:35 am
Response to “blue eyes came from one ancestor”
This is such an interesting article. I have heard several times that all babies are born with blue eyes and gradually change through infancy to their actual eye color. To think we all used to have brown eyes, is startling. My dad has blue eyes and my mom has dark brown eyes; I have brown eyes and never really understood the reason behind which eye color we inherit. This article helped me understand it. On a side note, my grandma had green eyes before she had a stroke and now they are bright blue. Still looking for answers to that one..
mathesonbliss · May 29, 2013 at 12:59 pm
The article about animals that learn to avoid poisons was interesting. I like learning about different examples of micro-evolution and I feel like events like this one only strengthen the argument for macro-evolution. I was curious as to how the researchers figured out that the cockroaches were evading the traps because of the glucose. Also, I wonder just what type of mutation occurred in order for the glucose-averse cockroaches to interpret the normally sweet taste of glucose as bitter. All in all it was an intriguing study and I have much appreciation for the researchers who are willing to work with cockroaches.
bmgibbs · May 30, 2013 at 8:41 am
Wow! I chose to read the Dove Beauty Campaign article because I am familiar with the ad. I saw it on Youtube not too long ago, and I really liked the message in it. It warmed my heart because it makes me sad that women today tend to have a lower self-confidence and body image issues. After reading this article that has scientific evidence proving this ad’s message is not necessarily true, I am shocked. I would think that people would typically choose the unmodified image of themselves, but maybe that’s just what I would do. Well, I’ll never really know, but I think that I have slightly lower self-esteem than the average person. However, I would agree with the article when it states that people tend to rate themselves better or above average at certain tasks like driving. That reminds me of something we talked about in class the other day. When we were doing one of the iClicker polls, there was a question with answers below average, average, and above average. We discussed how people like to rate themselves as above average most of the time because no one wants to be below average.
bmgibbs · May 30, 2013 at 8:49 am
I found the article on roaches and their evolving tastes interesting. I think I’ve heard before of similar studies with other species of animals, but I can’t remember exactly which ones. It’s neat how the roaches were able to develop an aversion to glucose and end up protecting themselves from the traps that were trying to kill them. However, I’m even more fascinated that this trait was able to be passed on to their offspring because I still don’t fully understand how genetic traits can evolve and be inherited. It’s really cool to me. I guess this change in taste receptors absolutely benefits the roach population because they are more likely to survive now. It’s annoying for us as people though trying to get rid of them!
ketom · May 31, 2013 at 5:11 pm
“Animals that learn to avoid poisons”
The fact that researchers collect so many roaches for an experiment is great scientific technique but also extremely disgusting since the thought of these critters grosses me out. Not only does the aversion to glucose impress me but the ability to genetically pass it onto subsequent generations is significant from an evolutionary aspect. Progeny can now focus on developing other abilities to avoid death compared to starting off new every generation. This trait also enhances the possibility of roach mating since they are not being killed off by the poisons.
ketom · May 31, 2013 at 5:28 pm
“Delaying nerve cell loss by dieting?”
After reading the title, I anticipated the typical good diet and hygiene connection to health advice but the article was much more specific. For scientists to isolate the SIRT 1 enzyme and suggest the relationship to neurodegeneration is huge progress. I am sure there are more enzymes and genetic factors which contribute in similar manners. For people to know exactly how proper caloric intake can delay nerve cell loss through this pathway is instrumental for human health in the future. Not only will people be motivated to diet but they will also have an idea of the mechanisms that correlate with longevity. As the end of the article states, the next question is whether these results hold true with other test subjects and eventually humans.
n_angel · June 2, 2013 at 9:27 pm
In response to “Animals that learn to avoid poisons”:
This article immediately caught my attention because I have in fact held one of these poison dart frogs or blue jean frogs while in Costa Rica. Now I wouldn’t suggest you go and hold one of these frogs just anywhere because they are so poisonous but I happened to meet a frog vet who said he had created a sustaining special diet that allowed the frogs to not be poisonous and since I am still alive and well I guess he was right! Ironically the article has nothing to do with frogs it deals with cockroaches! It is crazy how a tiny bug has learned what is poisonous and what is not. It is almost seems natural selection related.