ScienceDaily: Top Environment News |
- Songbirds' learning hub in brain offers insight into motor control
- DNA barcoding verified the discovery of a highly disconnected crane fly species
- Plant breeders develop an even heart-healthier oat
- Bright future for solar power from space
- The millennium-old olive trees of the Iberian Peninsula are younger than expected
- Sulphur and iron compounds common in old shipwrecks
| Songbirds' learning hub in brain offers insight into motor control Posted: 20 May 2012 10:35 AM PDT To learn its signature melody, the male songbird uses a trial-and-error process to mimic the song of its father, singing the tune over and over again, hundreds of times a day, making subtle changes in the pitch of the notes. To accomplish this feat, the Bengalese finch's brain must receive and process large quantities of information about its performance and use that data to precisely control the complex vocal actions that allow it to modify the pitch and pattern of its song. Now, scientists have shown that a key brain structure acts as a learning hub, receiving information from other regions of the brain and figuring out how to use that information to improve its song, even when it's not directly controlling the action.  |
| DNA barcoding verified the discovery of a highly disconnected crane fly species Posted: 18 May 2012 10:27 AM PDT Entomologists have discovered a new crane fly species on the Eurasian continent. The new species, Tipula recondita, has been documented in both Finnish Lapland and the Russian Far East in two apparently disconnected populations.  |
| Plant breeders develop an even heart-healthier oat Posted: 16 May 2012 09:01 AM PDT Plant breeders have developed a new oat variety that's significantly higher in the compound that makes this grain so cardio-friendly.  |
| Bright future for solar power from space Posted: 16 May 2012 06:38 AM PDT Solar power gathered in space could be set to provide the renewable energy of the future thanks to innovative research.  |
| The millennium-old olive trees of the Iberian Peninsula are younger than expected Posted: 16 May 2012 06:32 AM PDT North-East Spain is home to olive trees so old that they are known as 'millennium-old'. A group of scientists have now studied their age. The oldest is to be found in the Catalan region of Montsià and is 627 years old making it one of the oldest olive trees recorded in Europe.  |
| Sulphur and iron compounds common in old shipwrecks Posted: 15 May 2012 01:54 PM PDT Sulphur and iron compounds have now been found in shipwrecks both in the Baltic and off the west coast of Sweden. A few years ago scientists reported large quantities of sulphur and iron compounds in the salvaged 17th century warship Vasa, resulting in the development of sulphuric acid and acidic salt precipitates on the surface of the hull and loose wooden objects. This has now been found in other ships as well.  |
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