Duke Lemur Center

I had a chance to join the pre-Science-Online tour of the Duke Lemur Center this year.

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lemur4The Duke Lemur Centre houses over 250 animals across more than twenty species. Most are different types of lemurs, but they also have other prosimian primates, like aye-ayes. The lemur centre was established in 1966, and grew to the largest living collection of endangered primates in the world. The center does research in a number of areas, from communication to genetics. All research is non-invasive, so the animals are not harmed in any way.

lemur5Lemurs’ natural habitat is Madagascar, which was separated from other land masses millions of years ago, allowing all kinds of unique plants and animals to evolve. Much like Australia, and for the same reasons, Madagascar became home to animals not found elsewhere on the planet. Humans only arrived on Madagascar about two thousand years ago, and since their arrival many endemic species have already gone extinct. The Duke Lemur Center is also involved in several conservation initiatives in Madagascar, but it’s most visible work is the housing and study of different lemur species.

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The North Carolina climate is not the same as Madagascar, and when we visited in February the lemurs were mostly indoors, with access to outside areas. In summer, though, the lemurs are free-roaming within a quite large area of the forest. That would have been amazing to see, so I hope I get a chance to visit the area again in summer some time.

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First, fourth, and fifth photos by Melissa V who also did the Science Online lemur tour. Second and third photos by me.

Falling Upwards

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This week on Science for The People the conversation is about the science and history of lighter-than-air flight. The hour is spent with biographer and science writer Richard Holmes, to talk about his newest book, “Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air.” Learn about the technology of 19th century ballooning, and the pioneering men and women who took to the skies and changed our view of the world.

Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air by Richard Holmes (Pantheon, 2013)

Better Trials, So Failure Isn’t All Bad

Image courtesy of Zachary Veach
Image courtesy of Zachary Veach

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is rolling out new rules for clinical trials testing psychiatric drugs or interventions. For years, applications have proposed testing to see if Drug X helps with a particular condition, like depression, schizophrenia, anorexia etc.

If a drug does show an effect on the particular condition being tested, we have learned that we may have a new treatment for that condition. “Hooray!” If a drug does not show an effect on the particular condition being tested, we have learned that we may not have a new treatment for that condition, which is pretty much what we knew before the expensive clinical trial.

The NIMH has created new funding rules in an attempt to address this issue. Continue reading “Better Trials, So Failure Isn’t All Bad”

Meet the Finnish Forest Magic

The following narrative was written by my very good friend and colleague, Stephen Heap (University of Jyväskylä in Finland). He is a soft-spoken and incredible storyteller and this is a story about a forest survey, but really so much more.

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Story of the Forest by Stephen Heap, PhD

The pale sun of an autumn dawn shines through the trees to illuminate a shallow valley. Brown ferns, fading into death with the chill of the coming winter, are speckled across a mat of green moss. Trees placidly stand on either side of the valley, comfortably watching the scene below. Their shadows leave dark bars across the floor. The subdued shade accentuates the brighter patches, which shine with a golden luster like the skin of a sensuous lover in a sunlit bedroom. Continue reading “Meet the Finnish Forest Magic”

Science Caturday: Spring haz Sprung

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The vernal equinox on March 20 marked the official arrival of spring in the northern hemisphere. And after the harsh winter that many of us experienced this year, it arrived none too soon.

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Only if you want to, kitty! Relax and enjoy the first Caturday of spring.

lolcats via Cheezburger.com