A team led by Thomas Smith, director of the UCLA Center for Tropical Research and a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, found that data from satellites, when combined with traditional field studies, could help predict the variations in singing by a common songbird. The finding could lead to a better understanding of the evolution and variation of animal species.
When the brain’s primary “learning center” is damaged, complex new neural circuits arise to compensate for the lost function, say life scientists from UCLA and Australia who have pinpointed the regions of the brain involved in creating those alternate pathways — often far from the damaged site.
James Lloyd-Smith, UCLA assistant professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and his colleagues have found that the incidence of flu is rising among pigs in China.
David Walker, associate professor of Integrative Biology and Physiology, and his colleagues have identified a gene previously implicated in Parkinson’s disease that can delay the onset of aging and extend the healthy life span of fruit flies. The research, they say, could have important implications for aging and disease in humans.
David Walker, associate professor of Integrative Biology and Physiology, and Anil Rana, a UCLA postdoctoral scholar, have identified a gene that can extend the healthy life span of fruit flies by more than 25 percent.
UCLA Psychology Professor, Robert Bjork, is among the newest class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies and independent policy research centers.
An article about how Peter Nonacs, professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, lets students in his behavioral ecology class “cheat” on their midterm to teach them more about game theory.
The Eater blog on Thursday highlighted this year’s first UCLA “Science and Food” event, which featured Brazilian chef Alex Atala. Organized by Amy Rowat, UCLA assistant professor of integrative biology and physiology, the events are presented in conjunction with Rowat’s academic course “Science and Food: The Physical and Molecular Origins of What We Eat.”
UCLA scientists have shown that temporarily blocking a protein critical to immune response actually helps the body clear itself of chronic infection. Published in the April 12 edition of the journal Science, the finding suggests new approaches to treating persistent viral infections like HIV and hepatitis C.
Humans could learn a thing or two from turtles, and scientists who have just sequenced the first turtle genome uncovered clues about how people can benefit from the shelled creatures’ remarkable longevity and ability to survive for months without breathing.
