Bergmann's Rule

an ecogeographic principle that states that within a broadly distributed taxonomic clade, populations and species of larger size are found in colder environments, and species of smaller size are found in warmer regions

added 2013-11-08T21:13:13Z by anders

blood fructose is more damaging than blood glucose

Fructose causes seven times as much cell damage as does glucose, because it binds to cellular proteins seven times faster; and it releases 100 times the number of oxygen radicals (such as hydrogen peroxide, which kills everything in sight).

added 2013-10-22T15:06:02Z by anders

one reason for sleep might be toxin removal

brain cells shrink during sleep to open up the gaps between neurons and allow fluid to wash the brain clean.

added 2013-10-17T21:23:35Z by anders

otolith

Humans sense gravity and acceleration using otoliths, calcium crystals in the inner ear (similar to those jellyfish have) which move sensitive hair cells to tell the brain which way gravity is pulling.

added 2013-10-16T03:32:47Z by anders

crustaceans have gils

Insects have air sacs and trachea

added 2012-07-22T09:48:00Z by anders

Dextrocardia

a congenital defect in which the heart is situated on the right side of the body

added 2012-06-03T16:18:29Z by anders

Rock Hyraces are related to elephants and manatees

in the order Hyracoidea. they look more like small rodents though.

Source: wikipedia
added 2012-05-08T11:43:15Z by anders

monocque

shell structure in which the load is carried in more or less continuous panels (think exoskeleton)

added 2012-04-10T16:33:58Z by anders

endothelium

The endothelium is the thin layer of cells that lines the interior surface of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels

added 2012-03-29T21:06:11Z by anders

green leaf volatiles (GLV) are plant distress signals

They found that when these plants are attacked by tobacco hornworm caterpillars, Manduca sexta, the caterpillars’ saliva causes a chemical change in the GLV compounds the plants had produced. These modified compounds then attract predatory “true bugs,” Geocoris, which prey on hornworm eggs and young larvae.

added 2012-03-26T14:26:08Z by anders

histatin

Histatins are proteins found in saliva. They are antimicrobial and antifungal proteins, and have been found to play a role in wound-closure

added 2012-03-23T14:15:31Z by anders

secondary metabolite

Secondary metabolites are organic compounds that are not directly involved in the normal growth, development, or reproduction of an organism. Unlike primary metabolites, absence of secondary metabolites does not result in immediate death, but rather in long-term impairment of the organism’s survivability, fecundity, or aesthetics, or perhaps in no significant change at all.

added 2012-03-23T13:55:13Z by anders

flavanoid

Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids) (from the Latin word flavus meaning yellow, their colour in nature), are a class of plant secondary metabolites.

Has nothing to do with flavor.

added 2012-03-23T13:54:07Z by anders

central dogma of molecular biology

The central dogma of molecular biology deals with the detailed residue-by-residue transfer of sequential information. It states that such information cannot be transferred back from protein to either protein or nucleic acid.

DNA makes RNA makes proteins and never the other way around.

added 2012-03-23T13:03:06Z by anders

ribosome function

ribosome is the “factory” that takes amino acids and builds them up into proteins

added 2012-03-23T12:59:00Z by anders

female fruit flies temporarily lose interest in sex after mating due to sex peptide

females flies lose their interest in sex for a time because of the influence of a substance known as sex peptide, which males inject along with sperm at the culmination of the encounter. This causes them to reject the advances of the male flies.

added 2012-03-16T10:18:34Z by anders

sex-deprived male fruit flies drink more alcohol

added 2012-03-16T10:16:43Z by anders