Flying starlings, PET and the evolution of volant dinosaurs.

Curr Biol

Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA; Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA.

Published: April 2016

Birds have evolved behavioral and morphological adaptations for powered flight. Many aspects of this transition are unknown, including the neuroanatomical changes that made flight possible [1]. To understand how the avian brain drives this complex behavior, we utilized positron emission tomography (PET) scanning and the tracer (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) to document regional metabolic activity in the brain associated with a variety of locomotor behaviors. FDG studies are typically employed in rats [2] though the technology has been applied to birds [3]. We examined whole-brain function in European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), trained to fly in a wind tunnel while metabolizing the tracer. Drawing on predictions from early anatomical studies [4], we hypothesized increased metabolic activity in the Wulst and functionally related visual brain regions during flight. We found that flight behaviors correlated positively with entopallia and Wulst activity, but negatively with thalamic activity.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.02.025DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

metabolic activity
8
flying starlings
4
starlings pet
4
pet evolution
4
evolution volant
4
volant dinosaurs
4
dinosaurs birds
4
birds evolved
4
evolved behavioral
4
behavioral morphological
4

Similar Publications

Methicillin-resistant (MRSA) causes osteomyelitis (OM), which seriously threatens public health due to its antimicrobial resistance. To increase the sensitivity of antibiotics and eradicate intracellular bacteria, a Zn and vancomycin (Van) codelivered nanotherapeutic (named Man-Zn/Van NPs) was fabricated and characterized via mannose (Man) modification. Man-Zn/Van NPs exhibit significant inhibitory activity against extra- and intracellular MRSA and obviously decrease the minimum inhibitory concentration of Van.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

PMA1-containing extracellular vesicles of triggers immune responses and colitis progression.

Gut Microbes

December 2025

Department of Oncology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.

() exhibits aberrant changes in patients with colitis, and it has been reported to dominate the colonic mucosal immune response. Here, we found that PMA1 expression was significantly increased in from patients with IBD compared to that in healthy controls. A Crispr-Cas9-based fungal strain editing system was then used to knock out PMA1 expression in .

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

1,3,4-Oxadiazole-based heterocyclic analogs (3a-3m) were synthesized cyclization of Schiff bases with substituted aldehydes in the presence of bromine and acetic acid. The structural clarification of synthesized molecules was carried out with various spectroscopic techniques such as FT-IR,H and C-NMR, UV-visible spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry. antifungal activity was performed against , and and analogs 3g, 3i, and 3m showed potent MIC at 200 µg/ml and excellent ZOI measurements of 17-21 nm.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), such as pembrolizumab, have revolutionized cancer therapy but can lead to severe immune-related adverse events (irAEs). We present a case of fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and mesenteric ischemia in a 78-year-old woman with recurrent stage IIIC1 cervical cancer treated with pembrolizumab. Thirty-four days after initiating a pembrolizumab-containing regimen, she presented with vomiting, severe hyperglycemia, metabolic acidosis, and strongly positive urine ketones.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Implication of fibroblast growth factor 7 in ovarian cancer metastases and patient survival.

Front Oncol

January 2025

Gynecologic Oncology Section, Stephenson Cancer Center, Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, United States.

Background/objectives: Patients with ovarian cancer commonly experience metastases and recurrences, which contribute to high mortality. Our objective was to better understand ovarian cancer metastasis and identify candidate biomarkers and drug targets for predicting and preventing ovarian cancer recurrence.

Methods: Transcripts of 770 cancer-associated genes were compared in cells collected from ascitic fluid versus resected tumors of an ES-2 orthotopic ovarian cancer mouse model.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!