Meredith C Schuman, Kathleen Barthel, Ian T Baldwin
A 2-year field study has demonstrated that volatile compounds produced by plants when they are attacked by herbivores act as defenses by attracting predators to the herbivores and increasing the reproduction of the plants.
Jerome S Menet, Joseph Rodriguez ... Michael Rosbash
Genome-wide measurements on mouse liver cells show that transcription, and a particular key transcription factor, have a smaller than expected influence on the mouse circadian system.
A genome-organizing protein that is present only in the olfactory system of mice has been found to orchestrate changes in the relative numbers of different odor-sensing neurons on the basis of how active these neurons are.
Novel imaging experiments suggest that fruit flies modify their neural circuitry for walking at slow, medium and fast speeds, and that proprioception is not essential for coordinated walking.
Alexandre Martinière, Aurélie Bak ... Martin Drucker
Cauliflower mosaic virus reacts immediately when aphids feed on the host plant, and this boosts its chances of being taken up and transmitted by the insects to a new plant.
The nematode worm C. elegans consumes familiar bacterial species more rapidly than it does novel ones, and this preference for familiarity is mediated by a pair of serotonergic neurons.
Individual granule cells within the cerebellum-the region of the brain that coordinates movement and supports the learning of new motor skills-receive both sensory and motor input streams: an arrangement that may help the brain to use feedback to fine-tune movement.
