science briefing: Alan Cane
Thursday, 6 December 2007
Babies spot kind acts at 6 months
FT Syndication Service
Babies as young as six months can distinguish between helpful and unhelpful behaviour and favour those who help others, scientists have found.
The Yale researchers who made the discovery, published in the recent issue of Nature magazine, said it supported the view that an ability to evaluate people is a biological adaptation that is universal among humans and not something learned.
The experiment that led them to this conclusion involved a short play featuring a wooden figure with large eyes that made repeated unsuccessful attempts to "climb" a hill.
The figure was then either helped to the top of the hill by a triangular character or pushed back to the bottom by a square character.
Six and 10-month-old babies watched the miniature drama a number of times and were then given the choice of picking up the "helpful" or "unhelpful" character.
Overwhelmingly, both sets of babies reached for the helpful character.
The authors concluded this ability was essential for group activities such as hunting or sharing food, and may be the starting point for the development of moral reasoning and understanding right and wrong.
DNA fragments can self-assemble
A clue to the origin of life on Earth has emerged from studies at the universities of Colorado and Milan. Scientists at the two universities have discovered that tiny fragments of DNA, the chain-like chemical that carries genetic code, can spontaneously self-assemble into columns that could be thought of as precursors to chromosomes.
The DNA molecules form a "liquid crystal", a substance exhibiting both solid and liquid properties.
Noel Clark, of Colorado University, said researchers believed the early Earth was host to a "soup" of molecules from which short pieces of genetic material emerged as the most likely to form long molecules.
The researchers were surprised to find that DNA segments comprising as few as six of the key elements of the genetic code could assemble themselves into liquid crystal structures.
This discovery may help to explain how physical forces alone could create hugely complex chemicals such as DNA from much simpler molecules.
Prof Clark suggested that the shape of DNA itself, the well-known double helix, may result from its original creation as a liquid crystal.
Plant traps prey with unique fluid
Carnivorous plants are still yielding up secrets as to how they go about catching their victims.
The pitcher plant, for example, had been seen as one of the simplest plant predators. Featuring a voluminous, water-filled vessel with smooth sides to prevent prey escaping, it was seen as essentially passive.
Now French scientists have revealed the full horror awaiting any insect that enters the pitcher. The smooth sides, far from being merely a slippery slope, secrete a slimy fluid which, researchers say, "has the perfect viscoelastic properties to prevent the escape of any small creatures that come into contact with it even when diluted by the heavy rainfall of the forest of Borneo in which they live".
The researchers took high-speed videos of flies and ants struggling to move through the fluid and saw them enmeshed in long filaments.
The fluid seems unique in the plant kingdom. The scientists speculate it could stimulate environmentally friendly methods of pest control.
FT Syndication Service
Babies as young as six months can distinguish between helpful and unhelpful behaviour and favour those who help others, scientists have found.
The Yale researchers who made the discovery, published in the recent issue of Nature magazine, said it supported the view that an ability to evaluate people is a biological adaptation that is universal among humans and not something learned.
The experiment that led them to this conclusion involved a short play featuring a wooden figure with large eyes that made repeated unsuccessful attempts to "climb" a hill.
The figure was then either helped to the top of the hill by a triangular character or pushed back to the bottom by a square character.
Six and 10-month-old babies watched the miniature drama a number of times and were then given the choice of picking up the "helpful" or "unhelpful" character.
Overwhelmingly, both sets of babies reached for the helpful character.
The authors concluded this ability was essential for group activities such as hunting or sharing food, and may be the starting point for the development of moral reasoning and understanding right and wrong.
DNA fragments can self-assemble
A clue to the origin of life on Earth has emerged from studies at the universities of Colorado and Milan. Scientists at the two universities have discovered that tiny fragments of DNA, the chain-like chemical that carries genetic code, can spontaneously self-assemble into columns that could be thought of as precursors to chromosomes.
The DNA molecules form a "liquid crystal", a substance exhibiting both solid and liquid properties.
Noel Clark, of Colorado University, said researchers believed the early Earth was host to a "soup" of molecules from which short pieces of genetic material emerged as the most likely to form long molecules.
The researchers were surprised to find that DNA segments comprising as few as six of the key elements of the genetic code could assemble themselves into liquid crystal structures.
This discovery may help to explain how physical forces alone could create hugely complex chemicals such as DNA from much simpler molecules.
Prof Clark suggested that the shape of DNA itself, the well-known double helix, may result from its original creation as a liquid crystal.
Plant traps prey with unique fluid
Carnivorous plants are still yielding up secrets as to how they go about catching their victims.
The pitcher plant, for example, had been seen as one of the simplest plant predators. Featuring a voluminous, water-filled vessel with smooth sides to prevent prey escaping, it was seen as essentially passive.
Now French scientists have revealed the full horror awaiting any insect that enters the pitcher. The smooth sides, far from being merely a slippery slope, secrete a slimy fluid which, researchers say, "has the perfect viscoelastic properties to prevent the escape of any small creatures that come into contact with it even when diluted by the heavy rainfall of the forest of Borneo in which they live".
The researchers took high-speed videos of flies and ants struggling to move through the fluid and saw them enmeshed in long filaments.
The fluid seems unique in the plant kingdom. The scientists speculate it could stimulate environmentally friendly methods of pest control.