Wildfires persist in California
Wildfires in central and northern California continue to rage, with the American wildfire affecting over 13,000 acres. The Swedes Fire has grown to 1,995 acres and is expected to be fully contained by Thursday.
Natural Patterns
Articles tagged with Natural Patterns
Obesity can be predicted from infancy, CWRU researchers find
Researchers found that normal-weight babies plateaued at about two months and rarely deviated from their weight over height until age 5. In contrast, overweight or obese babies crossed the 17th percentile much later and continued an upward climb.
Encountering connections may make life feel more meaningful
Researchers found that experiencing coherence in one's environment makes life feel more meaningful. Participants who viewed nature photographs in a natural order reported greater meaning in life than those who saw them in random orders or an arbitrary seasonal pattern.
How petals get their shape
Researchers discovered that Arabidopsis petals contain a hidden map that orients growth towards the edge, producing rounded shapes. This finding explains how different shapes are generated in plants and provides insights into evolutionary adaptability.
Abnormal growth regulation may occur in children with heart defects
A study by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia researchers found that children with congenital heart disease exhibit impaired growth, measured in weight, length, and head circumference. The study suggests that abnormalities in overall growth regulation play a role in poor growth, potentially related to factors beyond nutrition.
Penn physicists help show math behind growth of 'coffee rings'
Researchers found that different particles create smooth or rough deposition profiles at the drop edge depending on their shape. They tested Poisson and KPZ processes, two classes of interfacial growth processes, and discovered elongated particles produced a KPZ class of growth.
UMass Amherst polymer scientists, physicists develop new way to shape thin gel sheets
Researchers at UMass Amherst have developed a new method of halftone gel lithography for photo-patterning polymer gel sheets, mimicking nature's ability to shape growth patterns. This technique allows for the creation of complex shapes and may aid advances in biomedicine, robotics and tunable micro-optics.
Accelerated infant growth increases risk of future asthma symptoms in children
A new study found that accelerated growth in the first three months of life increases the risk of asthma symptoms in preschool-age children. The study of over 5,125 children suggests that early infancy may be a critical period for the development of asthma.
SourceAmerican Thoracic Society·JournalAmerican Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine·DateJan 20, 2012
Team designs a bandage that spurs, guides blood vessel growth
A team of researchers has designed a microvascular stamp that uses living cells to deliver growth factors to damaged tissues in a defined pattern. After a week, the resulting network of new blood vessels mirrors the pattern of the stamp's channels, demonstrating controlled growth and spacing.
SourceUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, News Bureau·JournalAdvanced Materials·DateDec 15, 2011
Online activity grows in a similar pattern to those of real-life networks
A model published in the European Physical Journal B reveals that online communities' activity grows faster than user population, driven by individual tagging behaviour and constant heterogeneity across systems. This finding confirms accelerated growth patterns in virtual worlds.
Gut coils with help from its elastic neighbor
Researchers at Harvard discovered that a simple balance of forces determines the formation of the vertebrate gut's predictably loopy shape. The gut grows faster than its attached mesentery tissue, causing it to coil as the elastic forces build up.
Grandma was right: Infants do wake up taller
A new study confirms that infants wake up taller after sleep, with longer sleep bouts predicting increased weight and body-fat composition. The research also found sex differences in sleep patterns related to growth, with boys exhibiting more sleep bouts and shorter ones than girls.
Novel growth pattern classification predictive of outcome in non-small cell lung cancer
Researchers classified tumors into three growth patterns: destructive, alveolar, and papillary, which were independent predictors for overall survival, disease-specific survival, and disease-free survival. Patients with an alveolar growth pattern had a significantly higher risk of poor prognosis and reduced survival rates.
Marine aquaculture could feed growing world population
Marine aquaculture has the potential to meet global food demand as freshwater resources are limited and terrestrial agriculture struggles. Expanding marine aquaculture operations using low-on-the-food-chain organisms like plankton and algae can achieve sustainable growth.
A big bunch of tomatoes?
A new study identifies a genetic pathway that determines the pattern of flower growth in tomato plants. The researchers found that manipulation of this pathway can turn a single stem into hundreds of branch-bearing shoots, increasing crop yields.
Elastic stresses influence formation of leaf veins
A joint Argentinian-French study suggests that elastic stresses may play a crucial role in determining leaf venation patterns. By developing a numerical model, the researchers found simulated patterns with statistical properties similar to natural ones, challenging the existing view of auxin's role in vein formation.
Neanderthal bearing teeth
A 100,000-year-old Neanderthal from Belgium showed faster tooth growth, suggesting more advanced dental development. This pattern is intermediate between early human ancestors and living people, indicating a recent condition unique to our species.
SourceMax-Planck-Gesellschaft·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·DateDec 4, 2007
New south Florida nursery to focus on staghorn corals
A new underwater nursery in Biscayne National Park is dedicated to the propagation of staghorn corals. The nursery aims to develop effective fragmentation and propagation methodologies to help recover the species from decline due to climate change, coral diseases, and hurricanes.
SourceUniversity of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science·DateNov 15, 2007
A woman's age at first menstruation influences risk of obesity for her children
A new study found that mothers' early menarche is associated with their children's fast growth tempo, leading to taller childhood stature but potentially shorter adult height. This pattern of rapid growth increases the risk of childhood-onset obesity.
Abnormal pattern of brain development in premature babies
A study of premature babies found that their brain development follows an abnormal pattern, with the surface area growing faster than the volume. The rate of growth is critical in predicting whether a child will experience delayed development. The more premature and male the baby, the slower the growth rate and higher the risk of delay.
Creative economy grows despite large population growth of creative people
Despite modest regional growth in creative individuals, some cities experienced rapid job growth in the creative economy between 1999 and 2003. Creative occupations including engineers, educators, and scientists saw an average $20,000 annual increase in earnings compared to non-creative jobs.
Quorum sensing in yeast
Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have made significant progress in understanding how yeast cells communicate with each other through quorum sensing. This complex process allows yeast to coordinate behaviors such as biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance.
The complexity of tropical forest structure defies simple characterization
Researchers investigate tropical forest structure, uncovering intricate relationships between tree diversity, spatial distribution, and environmental factors. The study reveals that tropical forests exhibit complex characteristics that resist simplistic explanations, highlighting the need for nuanced understanding of these ecosystems.
Simple explanation for complex pattern of feather development
A team of biologists has discovered that plumed feather structures involve the coordination of at least two genes that activate and inhibit barb growth. This finding provides the best experimental evidence for a classical theory of growth in complex biological structures.
Supercool! Model unscrambles complex crystallization puzzle
Researchers have developed a simulation tool to predict the microstructures that form as complex liquid mixtures cool and solidify. The model accurately predicts how impurities and process differences affect crystal formation, enabling manufacturers to design new products with improved strength and durability.
SourceNational Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)·JournalNature Materials·DateAug 30, 2004
T. rex owes its giant size to the ultimate teenage growth spurt
Scientists charted T. rex life history for the first time, revealing a giant size due to an extraordinary growth spurt from 14 to 18 years of age. This was followed by about 10 years of little or no growth as an adult. The study provides insight into T. rex evolution, biology, biomechanics and population dynamics.
Light to moderate drinking during pregnancy can affect adolescent growth
A study found that light to moderate drinking during pregnancy can lead to growth deficits in adolescents, affecting their weight, height, and head circumference. The researchers also identified a dose-response relation between gestational exposure and growth deficits, with effects seen even at low levels of alcohol consumption.
Fossil teeth reveal recent origin of human growth pattern
Researchers found that a modern human-like growth period in humans is a relatively recent evolutionary acquisition, arising around 120,000 years ago. The analysis of fossil teeth suggests that the prolonged growth and development seen in humans today is not as old as previously thought.
The genetics behind miniature plants
Researchers identified BONZAI1 as a central player in Arabidopsis plant growth homeostasis. The gene influences plant size at different temperatures, with mutant cells failing to grow normally at cooler temps. A related protein, BAP1, was also found to interact with BONZAI1 and is more highly expressed at lower temps.