The Loh Down On Science | 89.3 KPCC

Is the urge to exercise genetic?

The Loh Down On Science — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:00:28 -0700

How much rats ran in their wheels during a 6-day period. White: rats who have a low urge to exercise; black: rats who have a high urge to exercise. Image courtesy of Roberts et al., Am J of Physiol, 2013; Credit:

Has science identified the Slacker gene?

This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.

Researchers at the University of Missouri say laziness may be genetic.

Frank Booth is a professor at the university’s vet school. He put lab rats in cages and watched their activity. Specifically, how much each voluntarily ran on its exercise wheel.

He singled out the most gung-ho wheel runners and bred them to each other. He also singled out the least energetic and bred them.

He bred the offspring of the top runners to each other. Ditto for the slackers. He kept breeding both types, for ten generations. By then the runner rats were ten times more exercise prone than the couch potatoes.

Finally, he collected tissue samples from the last generation. He extracted RNA from each sample and ran genetic tests to compare the samples’ genes.

Result? Thirty-six genes showed notable differences in the two rat types.

Further genetic analysis may explain why some humans prefer exercise more than others.

I prefer exercise, as long as it's done by rats ... but that’s just me.

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Thursday, from 2-3 p.m. on the LDOS blog: Sandra chats with author Deborah Fallows about her book Dreaming in Chinese.

The Loh Down on Science is produced by LDOS Media Lab, with 89.3 KPCC. And made possible by the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Finding out what makes roosters tick

The Loh Down On Science — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 06:00:28 -0700

How light and sound affect how much roosters crow. Image: Shimmura and Yoshimura, Curr Bio, 2013.; Credit:

Why do roosters crow before dawn . . . really?

This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.

Crowing behavior interests Japanese biologist Takashi Yoshimura. It’s because he studies circadian rhythms, or body clocks. They control biological processes—like sleep—that occur every twenty-four hours.

He wondered: Do roosters crow because of an internal body clock? Or in reaction to external stimuli?

To find out, he brought twelve roosters into a windowless lab. He put them on a lighting schedule. Twelve hours light, twelve hours dim.

And? As in the outside world, the roosters crowed two hours before the light got bright! Next, he switched to dim light round the clock. The roosters crowed at the same time at first, but eventually stopped altogether.

When he exposed the birds to external light and sound they also crowed. Just more enthusiastically at their regular morning time.

Yoshimura says this shows circadian rhythms do control crowing. But it's also influenced by factors like daylight and other roosters sounding off.

So that’s why roosters crow. As to why chickens . . . cross the road? More research is needed.

***** For more 90-SECOND SCIENCE FACTS, click here.*****

Thursday, from 2-3 p.m. on the LDOS blog: Sandra chats with author Deborah Fallows about her book Dreaming in Chinese.

The Loh Down on Science is produced by LDOS Media Lab, with 89.3 KPCC. And made possible by the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Do women prefer high or low male voices?

The Loh Down On Science — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 06:00:31 -0700

The higher a male's voice (x-axis) the less successfully he mates (y-axis). Image courtesy Apicella et al., Biol. Lett., 2007.

Bachelor Number One—say Hello! Or is it ... Hujambo?

This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.

Anthropologist Coren Apicella of Harvard University has studied the Hadza. This is an isolated African tribe, living much as humans did two hundred thousand years ago. Meaning men hunt, women gather.

Their limited exposure to the outside means their vocal preferences are untainted by, say, the sultry tones of a late-night DJ.

Apicella had Hadza women listen to recordings of male voices that were computer altered to change pitch. They rated lower-voiced bachelors as better hunters—

Hujambo

Fertile women showed no preference when it came to husband material. However, breastfeeding women preferred a higher-pitched greeting—

Hujambo!

Why the difference? Deep voices signal higher testosterone levels. Better for bringing in the bacon, but a risky bet for marriage stability.

Nursing moms, whose ability to gather food is limited, lean toward the more dependable-sounding suitor.

In an earlier study of the Hadza, though, Apicella found that lower-voiced men fathered more children.

But if their higher-voiced brothers stick around camp and help out with the dishes, I'd call that an even trade.

***** For more 90-SECOND SCIENCE FACTS, click here.*****

Thursday, from 2-3 p.m. on the LDOS blog: Sandra chats with author Ashley Merryman about her book (with Po Bronson) Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing.

The Loh Down on Science is produced by LDOS Media Lab, with 89.3 KPCC. And made possible by the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Surgeon's nightmare: Patients waking during surgery

The Loh Down On Science — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 06:00:31 -0700

Areas of the brain that are active when (A) awake and (C) unconscious. Alpha brain waves at (B) going unconsciouness and (D) waking up. Image courtesy of Purdon et al., PNAS, 2013.

Can patients regain consciousness during surgery?

This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.

Yes they can, and do. Luckily, it's not common! Still, anesthesiologists have long wanted to accurately monitor when a patient is truly under.

Now, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital may have found out how. The key? An EEG device. It records the brain's electrical activity with scalp electrodes.

The Boston team hooked ten healthy volunteers to various monitoring devices, including an EEG. They asked folks to tap one mouse button if they heard a click, another if they heard their name. Then they played those sounds every four seconds while they slowly administered surgical anesthetic. People were considered deeply unconsciousness when they no longer responded to their name.

When the scientists compared the mouse taps with the EEG readings? Right before people lost consciousness, and right before they regained it, their brains showed very distinct EEG activity.

Meaning there is a way to tell when surgical patients are truly under. So doctors no longer have to ask their patients, "Unconscious in the operating room? O.R. you?” Get it? O.R.?

***** For more 90-SECOND SCIENCE FACTS, click here.*****

Thursday, from 2-3 p.m. on the LDOS blog: Sandra chats with author Ashley Merryman about her book (with Po Bronson) Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing.

The Loh Down on Science is produced by LDOS Media Lab, with 89.3 KPCC. And made possible by the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

What female butterflies do with their antennae

The Loh Down On Science — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 06:00:28 -0700

The mating success of inbred male butterflies in six different sessions is higher (top) when females' sense of smell is intact, unlike when it is blocked (bottoms). White, black bars, non-inbred males; grey bars, inbred males. Image courtesy of Bergen et al., Proc. Royal Soc. B, 2013.

Biologists use nail polish to study mating butterflies?

This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.

Meet the tropical butterfly Bicyclus anyana. Scientists already knew that inbred males of this species have trouble finding mates. This makes sense, since half of all inbred males are sterile.

What they didn't know was what tipped females off. Was it the blanks stares? The creepy banjo playing (or butterfly equivalent?).

In successful matings, males transfer a sexy-smelling chemical onto females' antennae.

To find out if this was the key, biologists dusted the genitals of both inbred and normal males with powder. One color was for inbreds, another for normals.

They also painted the antennae of some females with nail polish, blocking their sense of smell. Then they put everyone together and waited to see where the colored dust would settle.

And? Females with glam, nail-polished antennae got dusted with both colors, meaning they mated wily-nily. But "unpolished" females—who could still smell—only mated with normal males.

Thus, inbred males just don't smell as sexy. And nail polish will only get a girl so far.

***** For more 90-SECOND SCIENCE FACTS, click here.*****

Thursday, from 2-3 p.m. on the LDOS blog: Sandra chats with author Ashley Merryman about her book (with Po Bronson) Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing.

The Loh Down on Science is produced by LDOS Media Lab, with 89.3 KPCC. And made possible by the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

New DNA replacement technique may cure some genetic diseases

The Loh Down On Science — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 08:15:24 -0700

Image courtesy of Mitaliapov Lab, OHSU.

Heather Has Two Mommies—that is, two mommies’ DNA!

This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science and research that brings a children’s classic bedtime story to life!

Researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University are working on a new technique to combat genetic diseases. These are diseases caused by mutations in mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down from mothers to children. These mutations can lead to lifelong health issues, like certain types of diabetes, deafness, and heart disease.

How’s the technique work? Faulty DNA from a mother’s egg is replaced by healthy DNA from a donor female egg. The new, hybrid egg is fertilized with sperm in vitro, and voila! No more mitochondrial diseases!

What else does Donor Mom contribute? Not much—the amount of DNA replaced is tiny. It only affects cell processes—not things like hair and eye color or musical talent.

But wouldn’t it be great if it did? Hey, I’d swap my freakishly large piano hands for your genetically assured math chops. Tiger Moms rejoice! Both of them.

***** For more 90-SECOND SCIENCE FACTS, click here.*****

Thursday, from 2-3 p.m. on the LDOS blog: Sandra chats with author Ashley Merryman about her book (with Po Bronson) Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing.

The Loh Down on Science is produced by LDOS Media Lab, with 89.3 KPCC. And made possible by the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Did China's T-Rex (ish) dinosaurs know how to swim?

The Loh Down On Science — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 06:00:28 -0700

Photographs and outline drawing of theropod swim trackway ZJ-II-1 and ZJ-II-2. Image courtesy of Xing et al., Chi. Sci. Bull., 2013.

Does China have a Jurassic water Park?

This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.

Meet paleontologist Scott Persons from the University of Alberta.

He recently traveled to China’s Szechuan Province. Why? To examine dinosaur tracks in an ancient river bed. It was probably a dinosaur highway during dry periods.

Among the numerous, easy-to-identify tracks, Persons spotted curious scratches. They looked like just the tips of three-toed claws. They ran about fifty feet, in a left-right left-right pattern. Then they stopped!

Was it a flying dinosaur, running for takeoff? And why only the claw tips?

To find out, Persons measured the distance between scratches. He also compared the prints to full footprints from known dinosaur species.

His conclusion? A land dinosaur, swimming! Most likely a small theropod. They walked on two legs and had claw-like feet. Think mini T-rex. Persons says the water was likely too deep, so it started paddling. Only its tippy toes touched the bottom.

Because those stubby forearms were too short for the breaststroke, I guess.

***** For more 90-SECOND SCIENCE FACTS, click here.*****

Thursday, from 2-3 p.m. on the LDOS blog: Sandra chats with author Ashley Merryman about her book (with Po Bronson) Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing.

The Loh Down on Science is produced by LDOS Media Lab, with 89.3 KPCC. And made possible by the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

When people are tempted to cheat, but can't

The Loh Down On Science — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 06:00:29 -0700

Experiment 1. Higher number indicates stronger attraction. Credit: Whitaker et al., Psych. Sci., 2013.; Credit:

Do video games actually soothe the savage beast?

This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.

Studies show that people blocked from achieving POSITIVE goals get FRUSTRATED! Other studies show that people self-soothe with media. Like watching TV. Or playing video games.

Psychologists at Ohio State University wondered: What about NAUGHTY goals? Do we get frustrated when we want to, say, CHEAT, but can’t?

And if so, do video games help blow off steam?

To find out, the researchers gave male college students a mock exam. But before starting, the researchers accidentally-on-purpose handed some students the answers! But before people could see details, they said, Whoopsie! Took back all papers, and started over.

Afterwards, the students took a quiz that secretly gauged their frustration.

They also read descriptions of video games and said which they'd most like to play.

Result? Those who lost the chance to cheat were most frustrated. And preferred the most violent games!

Conclusion? Violent video games may soothe our frustrations.

That explains why I get so frustrated when I try to cheat at “Angry Birds!” I think.

***** For more 90-SECOND SCIENCE FACTS, click here.*****

The Loh Down on Science is produced by LDOS Media Lab, with 89.3 KPCC. And made possible by the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Here's what happens when quality control runs amok

The Loh Down On Science — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 06:01:35 -0700

Black symbols and arrows indicate plasmid's toxin/antitoxin pairs. Image credit: Kofpmann & Hess, J. of Biol. Chem.

We humans are obsessive about killing bacteria. But can bacteria themselves have a death wish?

This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.

Meet Synechocystis. This bacterium contains a small extra fragment of DNA called a plasmid.   The plasmid contains instructions for simultaneously making both a toxin and an antitoxin. And once made, the toxin is much more stable than the antitoxin. Uh oh—sounds like trouble!

When Synechocystis reproduces, the original bacterium duplicates its DNA, then splits into two.   Now, both cells contain some leftover toxin.   So if, during division, either cell lost its antitoxin-producing plasmid, the old toxin is still very present, and very deadly.

Because other important genes are on the plasmid, this ensures that future generations of bacteria are correctly formed and tough enough to survive.

What's more? Synechocystis produces not one but seven toxin/antitoxin pairs.   So if six of them fail, there’s still that last one to make sure the defective cell bites it.

And we think we're so superior with our hand sanitizer. Please.

***** For more 90-SECOND SCIENCE FACTS, click here.*****

Thursday, from 2-3 p.m. on the LDOS blog: Sandra chats with author Po Bronson about his book NurtureShock.

The Loh Down on Science is produced by LDOS Media Lab, with 89.3 KPCC. And made possible by the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Giant squid species are not as scientists thought

The Loh Down On Science — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 06:00:58 -0700

Credit: Mark Norman, Melbourne Museum/Museum Victoria; Credit:

Giant squid are up to something. But what the kraken is it?

This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.

Giant squid are curious creatures. From head to tentacle-tip, giant squid measure as long as a school bus. They roam all the deep oceans.

But. They're notoriously hard to study because they rarely surface. Most of what we know comes from squid washed up on beaches or found in whale bellies.

To better understand the animals, geneticists analyzed their mitochondrial DNA. That’s a special type of DNA passed along the female line.

And surprise! It appears that squid from all over the world show almost no genetic variation. So all giant squid, everywhere, belong to the same species.

Scientists had believed there were at least three species. Why only one? The researchers suspect the giant squid population recently boomed. This may be because the numbers of squid-eating whales have decreased from hunting.

Either way, as my mother used to say about dating: There are lots of giant squid in the sea." Even if we rarely see them.

***** For more 90-SECOND SCIENCE FACTS, click here.*****

Thursday, from 2-3 p.m. on the LDOS blog: Sandra chats with author Po Bronson about his book NurtureShock.

The Loh Down on Science is produced by LDOS Media Lab, with 89.3 KPCC. And made possible by the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

What players trade during contact sports will surprise you!

The Loh Down On Science — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 06:00:27 -0700

A lower mean community variance for the “after-bout” points means that players’ skin micobiomes were more similar to one another after playing in a bout. Image: Meadow et al., PeerJ, 2013.; Credit:

Game on! Scientists enter the roller derby!

This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.

Meet researchers from the University of Oregon. They study the skin microbiome. It’s the collection of protective bacteria that covers every inch of our hairless hides.

The throng differs from person to person. The scientists wondered, "Does skin-to-skin contact affect a person's microbiome?" They figured one way to study the question would be via a contact sport. And, in rainy Oregon, we're guessing an indoor rink seemed more appealing than an outdoor playing field.

So, at a roller-derby tournament, they swabbed the upper arms of players from three teams before and after each bout, or game.

What did DNA analysis of the swabs reveal? That players on the same team had more similar microbiomes than players from different teams. But, overall, each team's biomes had become more similar to the other teams' biomes after each bout than before. So bacteria were exchanged between teams.

As was a lot of trash talk! But that's another story.

***** For more 90-SECOND SCIENCE FACTS, click here.*****

Thursday, from 2-3 p.m. on the LDOS blog: Sandra chats with author Po Bronson about his book NurtureShock.

The Loh Down on Science is produced by LDOS Media Lab, with 89.3 KPCC. And made possible by the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Should you buy land on the San Andreas Fault?

The Loh Down On Science — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 06:00:28 -0700

Faultline fluid pressure during a magnitude-4 earthquake. Image: Weatherly & Henly, Nature Geoscience, 2013.

Want free gold? Here’s a surprising real-estate tip!

This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.

Geophysicists in Australia were studying earthquakes. Earthquakes produce faults. Trace-element-laden water flows along them. In quartz veins that formed eons ago, gold often appears. But how exactly do those gold deposits form?

To find out, they used size measurements of actual faults. They plugged in scenarios of different magnitude quakes. They then analyzed this model . . . based on the mechanics of pistons.

And?

Seems that, during earthquakes, fault fissures can expand instantly. A magnitude-2 quake can increase a fissure's volume 130! Expansion causes pressure to drop, and water in the fissure then expands to fill the space. Sometimes the water expands so much so fast it turns into vapor! It’s called “flash vaporization.”

Then, trace elements that had been dissolved in the water get concentrated. With repeated quakes, gold deposits build up along with various minerals.

Note to self: Buy property along San Andreas fault, wait for the Big One. Think less May Day than Pay Day! Eureka!

***** For more 90-SECOND SCIENCE FACTS, click here.*****

Thursday, from 2-3 p.m. on the LDOS blog: Sandra chats with author Po Bronson about his book NurtureShock.

The Loh Down on Science is produced by LDOS Media Lab, with 89.3 KPCC. And made possible by the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Can paintballs divert asteroids on a collision course with Earth?

The Loh Down On Science — Fri, 31 May 2013 06:00:26 -0700

Artist's rendering of asteroid Apophis. Courtesy of MIT News.

Suit up, people: time for paintballs versus asteroids!

This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.

Recently, the United Nations invited scientists to pitch their best plans to deflect potentially deadly asteroids. The contest brought in predictable ideas. Nuclear bombs, tractor beams, that sort of thing.

But a graduate student at MIT won by proposing we pummel asteroids with paint pellets. Think: Martha Stewart meets space science! That fresh paint coat boosts an asteroid's albedo. Which is . . . is a fancy word for reflecting light. Boosting albedo means more sunlight bounces off an object. And that's the key.

See, photons of energy from the sun exert a small but real pressure strong enough to nudge a satellite off course. MIT's Sung Wook Paek said, hey, let's use that solar pressure to push asteroids away!

He figures we'll need five tons of paint and twenty years of solar pressure to divert asteroid Apophis, which is approaching Earth in 2029.

Five tons of paintballs? That’s a lot of teen birthday parties! In space. But never say never.

***** For more 90-SECOND SCIENCE FACTS, click here.*****

The Loh Down on Science is produced by LDOS Media Lab, with 89.3 KPCC. And made possible by the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Weird—how bug moms ensure simultaneous births

The Loh Down On Science — Thu, 30 May 2013 06:00:25 -0700

Maternal vibration induces hatching in burrower bug. Image courtesy of Mukai et al., Human Behaviour, 2012.

Can you wake up baby by shaking your booty?

This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying, yes, if you're a burrower bug.

This pea-sized critter from Japan lays its eggs in a pile. Then cuddles them, protecting them from predators. Aww! But wait! After a few days, mom starts wiggling her body vigorously in rhythmic bursts—still embracing the eggs. What gives?

Researchers from Kagoshima University in Japan know. They filmed mothers tending eggs. Sure enough, each mother-to-be eventually began busting a move. Then? Her eggs hatched within fifteen minutes! All of them. But when the researchers removed mothers before they could boogie? The brood hatched randomly over the course of twelve hours. So mom’s moves somehow trigger synchronized, rapid hatching.

Why bother? It may ensure that all young stay in the same stage of development. Or perhaps to avoid cannibalism. Big brothers and sisters will snack on little sibs. Talk about sibling rivalry!

Or maybe it's because half an hour of shaking beats twelve hours of waiting for eggs to hatch! After all, insect moms have lives, too!

***** For more 90-SECOND SCIENCE FACTS, click here.*****

The Loh Down on Science is produced by LDOS Media Lab, with 89.3 KPCC. And made possible by the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

A surprising new study about testosterone and adultery

The Loh Down On Science — Wed, 29 May 2013 06:00:57 -0700

Testosterone levels of adult males when interacting with females of reproductive age. Image courtesy of Flinn et al., Human Nature, 2012.

Not coveting thy neighbor’s wife isn't only Biblically-indicated, it’s biological!

This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.

Conventional wisdom is that most teenage boys covet every female that moves. But once in adulthood, men seem biologically disposed to avoid adultery—at least with the wives of close friends.

So say anthropologists from the University of Missouri. Typically, adult males' testosterone levels rise when they interact with a potential sexual partner. But in men interacting with the spouse of a close friend? The Missouri team found that testosterone level actually drops.

Going after thy neighbor's wife is arguably rare considering how many chances there are to do so. Do we really have the tenth commandment to thank? Weeeelll ... that or evolution. From that standpoint, betraying another man’s trust and family could endanger the survival of whole communities.

So the researchers think men’s brains have evolved to be more interested in forming alliances then destroying a friend’s relationship.

Or at least in avoiding that more modern commandment: “Thou shalt split community property 50/50.” Sure!

***** For more 90-SECOND SCIENCE FACTS, click here.*****

The Loh Down on Science is produced by LDOS Media Lab, with 89.3 KPCC. And made possible by the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.