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Advances
in evolution
Susan Lindquist,
professor in molecular genetics and cell biology (below), led a
team that identified a link between outside temperatures and genetic
changes in body structure. They reported in the November 19 issue
of Nature that temperature and other environmental changes
can cause a chemical known as heatshock protein to stop performing
its role in preventing genetic irregularities, which helps explain
some rapid evolutionary changes.
Try
reasoning with your crying baby...
They catch
on to the actions of those around them a lot faster than researchers
once thought, according to findings by Amanda Woodward, assistant
professor in psychology. In the current issue of Cognition,
Woodward reports that babies begin to develop social reasoning skills
as early as 5 months of age. Her studies show that young babies
can understand, for example, the purpose of some of their adult
caregivers’ movements and that two objects cannot occupy the
same space—disputing long held views that infants under 1 year
old cannot grasp goal-directed action.
When
do birds sing?
In the December
18 issue of Science, U of C neurologist Daniel Margoliash
describes how the zebra finch appears to rehearse its song while
sleeping. Exploring the role of dreams in human learning, Margoliash
discovered a pattern of activity in the sleeping bird’s brain
that had been expected to appear only when it’s awake and singing.
New
Zealand—here we come!
GSB professor
Robert Vishny contributed to a report for the National Bureau of
Economic Research that looks at what makes good governments work.
The most effective formula, per Vishny: Big governments overseeing
rich, homogeneous populations in temperate climates.—J.P.
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