“Music makes you smarter - EurekAlert” plus 4 more |
- Music makes you smarter - EurekAlert
- Will genomics help prevent the next pandemic? - EurekAlert
- Evolution a natural story of adventure - Lexington Herald-Leader
- Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy - FORCE announces Environmental ... - CNW Group
- Scientists meet in St. Louis to tackle hunger - MSN Money
| Music makes you smarter - EurekAlert Posted: 26 Oct 2009 06:41 AM PDT ![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small} Public release date: 26-Oct-2009[ | E-mail |  Share ] Contact: Steve Pogonowski Regularly playing a musical instrument changes the anatomy and function of the brain and may be used in therapy to improve cognitive skills. There is growing evidence that musicians have structurally and functionally different brains compared with non-musicians. In particular, the areas of the brain used to process music are larger or more active in musicians. Even just starting to learn a musical instrument can changes the neurophysiology of the brain. Lutz Jncke, a member of Faculty of 1000 Medicine, proposes using music in neuropsychological therapy, for example to improve language skills, memory, or mood. In a review for Faculty of 1000 Biology Reports, an online publication in which leading researchers highlight advances in their field, Jncke summarizes recent studies of professional musicians. The brain regions involved in music processing are also required for other tasks, such as memory or language skills. "If music has such a strong influence on brain plasticity," writes Jncke, "this raises the question of whether this effect can be used to enhance cognitive performance." Several studies indeed show that musical practice increases memory and language skills, and Jncke suggests expanding this field: "Hopefully, the current trend in the use of musicians as a model for brain plasticity will continue ... and extend to the field of neuropsychological rehabilitation."
Notes to Editors 1 Lutz Jncke is a Member of Faculty of 1000 Medicine, and professor of Neuropsychology at ETH Zrich http://f1000medicine.com/member/1598438481844157 2 Subscribers can view the full text of the article "Music drives brain plasticity" at http://f1000biology.com/reports/10.3410/B1-78/ 3 Please name F1000 Biology Reports/Faculty of 1000 Biology in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the website. 4 The F1000 Biology Reports (ISSN 1757-594X) journal publishes short commentaries by the world's top scientists in which the hottest biology papers/clusters of papers identified by Faculty of 1000 are put into a broader context http://www.f1000biology.com/reports 5 Faculty of 1000 Biology http://www.f1000biology.com is a unique online service that helps you stay informed of high impact articles and access the opinions of global leaders in biology. Our distinguished international faculty select and evaluate key articles across biology, providing a rapidly updated, authoritative guide to the biomedical literature that matters [ | E-mail | Share ]
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| Will genomics help prevent the next pandemic? - EurekAlert Posted: 26 Oct 2009 09:18 AM PDT Public release date: 26-Oct-2009[ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Liz Allen Press release from PLoS MedicineThis week, the Public Library of Science, an open-access publisher, presents the "Genomics of Emerging Infectious Disease," a collection of essays, perspectives, and reviews that explores how genomicswith all its associated tools and techniquescan provide insights into our understanding of emerging infectious disease. As pandemic H1N1 2009 influenza (commonly referred to as swine flu) continues to spread around the globe, people want to know if this flu poses more of a threat than other seasonal flu strains, how fast it's spreading (and where), and what can be done to contain it. The increasing speed at which complete genome sequences and other genome-scale data can be generated provides tremendous opportunities to address these questions by identifying the molecular changes in disease agents such as influenza viruses that will enable us to track their spread and evolution and to generate the vaccines and drugs necessary to combat them. The "Genomics of Emerging Infectious Disease" collection discusses the challenges involved and how scientists and public health professionals might take advantage of these opportunities and advances to prevent the next pandemic. (See the link at the bottom of the release for a press preview PDF containing all the a rticles in the collection;.when the embargo ends the collection will be available at http://ploscollections.org/emerginginfectiousdisease/) Emerging infectious diseases are caused by a wide range of organisms, but they are perhaps best typified by zoonotic viral diseases, which cross from animal to human hosts and can have a devastating impact on human health. These zoonotic diseases include monkeypox, Hendra virus, Nipah virus, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), in addition to influenza A and the lentiviruses (HIV) that cause AIDS. As Albert Osterhaus and colleagues from the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, point out in their article in the collection, the apparent increased transmission of pathogens from animals to humans over recent decades can be attributed to the unintended consequences of globalization as well as environmental factors and changes in agricultural practices. Articles in the collection also shine a spotlight on specific pathogens, some familiar and widespread, such as the influenza A virus, some "reemerging," such as the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex that causes tuberculosis, and some identified only relatively recently, such as the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which is associated with peptic ulcers and gastric cancer. Others discuss the broader implications of genomics research in this area, such as what it means for researchers in developing countries or for our biosecurity. As Jacques Ravel and colleagues from the US University of Maryland School of Medicine note, genomics can and should be used proactively to build our preparedness for and responsiveness to biological threats. The collection is a collaborative effort that combines financial support from Google.org [http://www.google.org/predict.html] with PLoS's editorial independence and rigor and the expert opinion of leading researchers from several different disciplines. Rajesh Gupta from Stanford University, and colleagues provide Google.org's perspective and vision for how systematic application of genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics to infectious diseases could predict and prevent the next pandemic. To realize this vision, they urge the community to unite under an "Infectious Disease Genomics Project," analogous to the Human Genome Project. Jonathan Eisen, a Professor at the University of California, whose laboratory is in the UC Davis Genome Center, is the Editor of this PLoS collection, which includes 14 articlesall publishing on 26 October 2009from six different PLoS journals (PLoS Biology, PLoS Medicine, PLoS Computational Biology, PLoS Genetics, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, and PLoS Pathogens), reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of the topic. Many scientific journals produce special issues on a topic of interest for their audiences. However, open-access publishing, such as that done by the Public Library of Science, makes it possible to have such a large multidisciplinary cross-journal collection simultaneously available online for unrestricted reuse, regardless of venue (see also the Audio Interview that accompanies the collection: http://www.plos.org/press/plos-emerginginfectiousdisease-audio.mp3). As outlined in the collection's editorial published in PLoS Biology, this collection will add to other "open science" activities that have helped provide insights into infectious disease more quickly than would have been thought feasible only a few years ago. The faster, cheaper, and more openly we can distribute the discoveries of science, the better for scientific progress and public health. Managing the threat of novel, re-emerging, and longstanding infectious diseases is challenging enough even without barriers to scientific research. Related links: - Press only preview PDF of the Collection (active now): http://www.plos.org/press/plos-collection-emerging-infectious-disease.pdf - Link to the final online location of the Collection (active at 9AM Pacific on 26th October; please use this link in your coverage): http://ploscollections.org/emerginginfectiousdisease/ See the full list of articles and final online locations at the bottom of the release. Press only preview of the Audio Interview (active now): http://www.plos.org/press/plos-emerginginfectiousdisease-audio.mp3 Link to final online Audio Interview (active 9AM Pacific on the 26th October): http://ploscollections.org/downloads/emerginginfectiousdisease.mp3 Link to Google.org Predict and Prevent http://www.google.org/predict.html CONTACT:
Full list of articles in the Collection and final online locations (active 9AM PST on the 26th October):
About the Public Library of Science The Public Library of Science (PLoS) is a non-profit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world's scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource. For more information, visit http://www.plos.org. [ | E-mail | Share ]
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| Evolution a natural story of adventure - Lexington Herald-Leader Posted: 26 Oct 2009 08:28 AM PDT These overlooked stories will be revealed when Carroll lectures Wednesday at Haggin Auditorium at Transylvania University's Mitchell Fine Arts Center. Carroll, a Darwin scholar and author, is Transylvania's fall Kenan Lecture speaker. His 7:30 p.m. speech is free. "You're going to hear tales of adventure, great voyages and what some early naturalists encountered, in terms of the animals, the fossils they dug up, the hardships they faced and the more dramatic moments in their adventures," Carroll said. "And you'll hear how the creatures they found led them to new ideas about the nature of life and how life changed." Carroll said he'll focus on the intertwining stories of three 19th century naturalists and field biologists: Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace and Henry Walter Bates. Wallace and Bates, much more well-known in their time than now, traveled to the Amazon on their initial voyages. For his speech, Carroll draws from his recent book, Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origin of Species. It was recently named one of the five non-fiction finalists for the 2009 National Book Awards. The book and Carroll's remarks coincide with the bicentennial of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the Origin of Species. A rare first edition of Darwin's book is housed at Transylvania's library. Carroll said all three of the explorers he will highlight overcame huge obstacles, had very little training in what they set out to do and faced potentially fatal conditions. "You wouldn't have bet on any of these three guys to be scientific revolutionaries and immortals in biology," he said. "Actually, you wouldn't have bet on any of those people to survive the trip. These were really hazardous journeys." And their work is collectively celebrated as the foundation for modern biologists as biology, Carroll said, is enjoying a second "Golden Age." "It's a Golden Age being enabled by the massive explosion in information that's available about species and how they're made and how they differ and how they change," said Carroll, whose research focuses on genes that play key roles in animals' evolution. Carroll said his lecture, part of a series funded by the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust, is aimed for science buffs or novices of all ages. "This is meant to be fun," he said. "It's a lecture on science, but it's really meant to be storytelling." This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy - FORCE announces Environmental ... - CNW Group Posted: 26 Oct 2009 08:43 AM PDT EDITOR'S NOTE: For interviews with committee chairs or FORCE, please contact: Dr. Anna Redden, 902-585-1732; Lois Smith: 902-254-2280.; and John Woods, 902-497-7346. Names of committee members are at the bottom of this release. The two advisory committees - environmental effects monitoring and community liaison - will provide independent advice to the project from individuals with a range of backgrounds. "FORCE has an important public purpose and everyone can benefit from the advice of scientists, fishers, residents and First Nations people," said The Environmental Monitoring Advisory Committee will provide independent expert scientific and traditional ecological knowledge advice on environmental effects monitoring programs at the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE). The Community Liaison Committee will act as a liaison between local organizations, community, and FORCE participants, providing a forum to discuss any issues related to the tidal project and to share timely information as the project proceeds. "This is about keeping everyone in the conversation," said Both committees will have representation from fishers, Mi'kmaq, government, technology developers, and FORCE. The environmental monitoring advisory committee will also include members of the academic community. The community liaison committee will also include members of the general public. Energy Minister "Tidal technology can play a role in protecting our environment and sustaining our communities," said Initial appointments to both committees were made by FORCE, a partnership between developers and the province. Names of Community Liaison Committee Members, followed by names and biographies of Environmental Monitoring Advisory Committee members: Community Liaison Committee Members: Biographies of EMAC Members Michael Brylinsky is a Senior Research Associate of the Acadia Centre for Estuarine Research at Acadia University and an Adjunct Professor in the Biology Department at Acadia University. Over the past 30 years, Graham Daborn is an Emeritus Professor at Acadia University and the former Director of the Acadia Centre for Estuarine Research. Michael Stokesbury is currently the Director of Research for the Ocean Tracking Network at Dalhousie University, and as well as an Adjunct professor of Biology at Acadia University. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| Scientists meet in St. Louis to tackle hunger - MSN Money Posted: 26 Oct 2009 07:09 AM PDT Kelsey Volkmann About 1,500 scientists, researchers and others interested in solving the world's food shortage have gathered in St. Louis for theNinth International Congress on Plant Molecular Biology. Monsanto's Chief Technology Officer Robb Fraley calls it the "All-Star Game of plant biology." He and Missouri Botanical Garden President Peter Raven are two of the keynote speakers at the conference, which started Sunday and runs through Friday at the America's Center and Renaissance Grand Hotel downtown. This is the first time the Congress, one of the world's most prestigious plant research events, will be hosted in St. Louis and the first time it's being held in the United States in more than 20 years. Fraley, which was scheduled to speak this morning, said he planned to share how Monsanto is working to solve the world's food shortages through modified seeds and drought-resistant crops with the goal of doubling crop yields by 2030. "I'm going to talk about plant biology and biotechnology and how they fit into creating higher yielding and more sustainable agriculture," he said. "As the population continues to grow and demand for food increases per capita, we realize that we need to double food production to meet those needs." The Congress couldn't come at a more important time, Fraley said. "Agriculture is in the middle of some of the most important discussions and debates going on today, probably more so than at any other point in the 28 years I have been at Monsanto," he said. "Agriculture plays a role in the big picture policy of food security, energy, climate change and water usage." Click herefor a conference schedule. Copyright 2009 bizjournals.com This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
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