Everyday Thinking

NestWatch project leader to speak at the Roberson Museum in Binghamton

What could be cuter than baby birds all atwitter in the nest? But amid the “oohs” and “aahs” are real data about the rhythms of bird biology and how they may be changing as the result of human activity. Combine the “wow” factor of the former with the scientific value of the latter and you have NestWatch - ­a new, free citizen science project developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in collaboration with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and funded by the National Science Foundation. Participants visit nests during spring and summer to collect simple information about location, habitat, species, number of eggs, and number of young in the nest. Then they submit their observations online.

“NestWatch introduces birding and simple methods of scientific inquiry to families, children, retired adults­people of all ages and skills,” says project leader Tina Phillips. “It’s easy and fun. It helps people reconnect with nature in their own yard, nearby park, or nature preserve.”

Peter Marra from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center at the National Zoo says, “Each and every observation is important because it helps scientists measure the impact of such things as climate change and habitat destruction. Without citizens across the country collecting this information for us it would be almost impossible to track these large-scale destructive processes.” 

In addition to Nestwatch, the NestCams companion site has been revamped and is now up and running. Live cameras show the nesting activities of Barn Owls, Wood Ducks, and Northern Flickers in Texas and California. More cameras will be going online across the country in the weeks ahead.

All NestWatch materials and instructions are available online including directions on how to find nests and how to monitor them without disturbing the birds.

“One of the most exciting things about NestWatch,” says Phillips, “is that we’ll be able to take in data from as far back as 1900!”

Anyone who’s been keeping nest records on their own will now have a way to put that important information to use. With all this information from NestWatchers, scientists will be able to track changes in reproductive timing and fledging success which may be linked to climate change.

The lecture on Friday evening will cover several topics - the relationship between citizen scientists and birds, practical ways people can bring nesting birds to their backyards, and the diversity of avian breeding biology.

"There's so many fascinating aspects of avian breeding biology," says Phillips, "I want to be able to give people a sense of just how different these breeding systems are, even within our country with the 700 species of birds that breed in North America."

The guest lecture with Tina Phillips takes place on Friday, May 9th at 7 .m. at the Roberson Musuem and Science Center, Binghamton.

Author of Zen and the Brain to speak at Ithaca College

Distinguished neuroscientist and Zen practitioner James H. Austin will discuss the intersection of scientific and spiritual approaches to the human brain in a free public talk at Ithaca College on Monday, March 24. Austin’s presentation, “Zen and the Brain” will be held at 8 p.m. in Textor 102.

Austin is currently a clinical professor of neurology at the University of Missouri Health Science Center. His book “Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness” aims to establish links between the neurological workings of the human brain and meditation. A practitioner himself of Zen Buddhism, Austin examines such topics as similar states in other disciplines and religions, sleep and dreams, mental illness, consciousness-altering drugs and the social consequences of the advanced stage of ongoing enlightenment.

In addition to a follow-up published in 2006—“Zen-Brain Reflections: Reviewing Recent Development in Meditation and States of Consciousness”—Austin is also the author of the books “Chase, Chance, and Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty” and the forthcoming “Zen Brain, Selfless Insight: The Meditative Transformations of Consciousness.” Austin earned his medical degree from Harvard and has taught at the University of Oregon Medical School and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. It was during a sabbatical in 1974 in Kyoto, Japan, that he began Zen meditation training with an English-speaking Zen master, Kobori-Roshi.

Austin’s visit is sponsored by the Office of the Chaplains at Ithaca College. For more information, contact Michael Faber at (607) 274-3323 or faber@ithaca.edu.

Why the French don't get fat

It's the French paradox redux: Why don't the French get as fat as Americans, considering all the baguettes, wine, cheese, pate and pastries they eat?

Because they use internal cues -- such as no longer feeling hungry -- to stop eating, reports a new Cornell study. Americans, on the other hand, tend to use external cues -- such as whether their plate is clean, they have run out of their beverage or the TV show they're watching is over.

"Furthermore, we have found that the heavier a person is -- French or American -- the more they rely on external cues to tell them to stop eating and the less they rely on whether they felt full," said senior author Brian Wansink, the John S. Dyson Professor of Marketing and director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab in the Department of Applied Economics and Management, now on leave to serve as executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion until January 2009.

Click here to read the full article.

A fruit a day may keep Alzheimer's at bay

Eating more apples, bananas and oranges just may help stave off such neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, suggests a new Cornell study published online in the Journal of Food Science.

When Chang Y. "Cy" Lee, Cornell professor and chair of food science and technology at the university's New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, N.Y., and South Korean colleagues exposed neurons (nerve cells) to apple, banana and orange extracts, they found that the fruits' antioxidants, specifically the so-called phenolic phytochemicals, prevented oxidative stress-induced toxicity in the neurons.

"Many studies indicate that the brains of Alzheimer's patients are subjected to increased oxidative stress ... and the resulting cellular dysfunctions are widely believe to be responsible for the nerve degeneration in these patients," said Lee.

Lee had reported in 2004 that similar chemicals in apples could protect rat brain cells when assaulted by oxidative stress in laboratory tests, and therefore, that apples might help prevent the type of damage that triggers Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Read the full article here.

Antibiotic Resistance Found In Wild Arctic Birds

Swedish researchers report that birds captured in the hyperboreal tundra, in connection with the tundra expedition "Beringia 2005," were carriers of antibiotics-resistant bacteria. These findings indicate that resistance to antibiotics has spread into nature, which is an alarming prospect for future health care.

The scientists took samples from 97 birds in northeastern Siberia, northern Alaska, and northern Greenland. These samples were cultivated directly in special laboratories that the researchers had installed onboard the icebreaker Oden and were further analyzed at the microbiological laboratory at the Central Hospital in Växjö, Sweden.

"We were extremely surprised," says Björn Olsen, professor of infectious diseases at Uppsala University and at the Laboratory for Zoonosis Research at the University of Kalmar.

"We took samples from birds living far out on the tundra and had no contact with people. This further confirms that resistance to antibiotics has become a global phenomenon and that virtually no region of the earth, with the possible exception of the Antarctic, is unaffected."

Read the full article here.

(Photo: Western sandpiper (Calidris mauri), one of the species carrying antibiotic resistant bacteria. Credit: Photo by Jonas Bonnedahl)

The Aging Brain: Failure to Communicate

A team of Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers has shown that normal aging disrupts communication between different regions of the brain. The new research, which used advanced medical imaging techniques to look at the brain function of 93 healthy individuals from 18 to 93 years old, shows that this decline happens even in the absence of serious pathologies like Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers have known for quite some time that normal aging slowly degrades bundles of axons in the central nervous system that transmit critical signals. “Our study now shows that cognitive decline in aging may be linked to disruption of communication between different regions of the brain,” said Buckner, who is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Harvard University. He is also affiliated with the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School.

A team of Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers has shown that normal aging disrupts communication between different regions of the brain. The new research, which used advanced medical imaging techniques to look at the brain function of 93 healthy individuals from 18 to 93 years old, shows that this decline happens even in the absence of serious pathologies like Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers have known for quite some time that normal aging slowly degrades bundles of axons in the central nervous system that transmit critical signals. “Our study now shows that cognitive decline in aging may be linked to disruption of communication between different regions of the brain,” said Buckner, who is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Harvard University. He is also affiliated with the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School.

The new research, published December 6, 2007, in the journal Neuron, begins to reveal how simply growing old can affect the higher-level brain systems that govern cognition. “We may have caught the failure of communication in the act,” said Buckner.

Click here to read the full article.

Using genetic engineering in trees for a new source of energy

It might be true that “only God can make a tree,” as the poet Joyce Kilmer wrote. But genetic engineers can fundamentally redesign them.

Aiming to turn trees into new energy sources, scientists are using a controversial genetic engineering process to change the composition of the wood. A major goal is to reduce the amount of lignin, a chemical compound that interferes with efforts to turn the tree’s cellulose into biofuels like ethanol.

Vincent L. Chiang, co-director of the forest biotechnology group at North Carolina State University, has developed transgenic trees with as little as half the lignin of their natural counterparts. “I think the transgenic tree with low lignin will contribute significantly to energy needs,” he said.

Environmentalists say such work can be risky, because lignin provides trees with structural stiffness and resistance to pests. Even some scientists working on altering wood composition acknowledge that reducing lignin too much could lead to wobbly, vulnerable trees.

Read the full article here (note: this may require registration to view the full article).

Can a lack of sleep cause psychiatric disorders?

There's no question that people need their sleep: studies have linked a lack of shut-eye to everything from disruptions in the immune system to cognitive deficits to weight control.

In fact, psychologist Matthew Walker of the University of California, Berkeley, says that "almost all psychiatric disorders show some problems with sleep.'' But, he says that scientists previously believed the psychiatric problems triggered the sleep issues. New research from his lab, however, suggests the reverse is the case; that is, a lack of shut-eye is causing some psychological disturbances.

Read the full article here.

405 year-old clam is oldest animal ever

It has been christened Ming and it's officially the oldest animal to have ever lived.

A British scientific team discovered the 405-year-old clam, named after the Chinese dynasty and not the former Liberal Democrat leader, at the bottom of the ocean, and hope its longevity will reveal the secrets of ageing.

So significant is the find that Help The Aged have awarded a £40,000 grant to the team to investigate how the molusc, born when Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne and William Shakespeare was writing The Merry Wives of Windsor, has survived over the centuries.

Read the full article here.