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ddvmor


I am the Jammie King!




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Date: Jun 7, 2006
Important Research
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Urge to Itch Linked to Gender


June 6, 2006 — Genes and gender help determine an individual’s urge to scratch, suggests a new study on pruritus, otherwise known as itch.



The study is the first to demonstrate sex differences in itch-induced scratching behavior in animals. The researchers studied mice, but the findings could apply to humans and other mammals.



The conclusion? Females scratched themselves 23 percent more often than males did.



"We haven’t investigated the underlying mechanisms of the sex difference yet, but they usually involve gonadal (reproductive gland) hormones, such as estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, either during development or in adulthood," said Jeffrey Mogil, one of the researchers.



Mogil, a specialist in the genetics of pain at McGill University in Canada, and his colleagues induced itching in the mice by administering chloroquine, a malaria drug known to cause itchiness.




Nice use of the word 'gonadal'.  We don't see that word in print often enough...



-- Edited by ddvmor at 08:42, 2006-06-07

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ddvmor


I am the Jammie King!




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Date: Jul 3, 2006
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Hmm.  So you were obviously unimpressed by that scientific oddity.  How 'bout this one to tickle our ...er... fancy?



Ants 'use an internal pedometer'
Desert ants use an internal "pedometer" to measure exact marching distances, according to a study.

Researchers knew foraging insects could navigate using light from the sky, but were puzzled by the animals' ability to gauge the length of ground covered.

By manipulating the ants' leg lengths to give them longer and shorter strides, a Swiss/German team found the ants "counted" steps to judge distance.


To investigate, scientists from the University of Ulm, Germany, and the University of Zurich, Switzerland, set some ants off on a foraging trip along a straight tunnel, but once they had reached the food their legs were manipulated to either make them longer by adding stilts, or shorter by partially amputating them.

The ants were then returned to the same spot to begin their homeward-bound journey. However, the researchers discovered the ants with longer legs overshot the nest entrance, while those with the shortened legs undershot it.



Aren't you glad they've cleared that up?  Hmm?  Aren't you?  Glad?  Hmm?


Anyway...


I'm off to see if there's a market for ant sized prosthetic limbs...



-- Edited by ddvmor at 12:50, 2006-07-03

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bonniepirateanne


I ain't a Pirate and I ain't called Anne, but I sure am Bonnie!

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Date: Jul 3, 2006
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actually, that is pretty interesting.. not sure how it's going to help anything, but interesting nevertheless

i feel sorry for the little amputees too

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ddvmor


I am the Jammie King!




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Date: Jul 3, 2006
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Antputees.  Geddit?  He he he he he...

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bonniepirateanne


I ain't a Pirate and I ain't called Anne, but I sure am Bonnie!

(Mrs)




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Date: Jul 3, 2006
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no.. i don't get it.. did you make some kind of pun joke?

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ddvmor


I am the Jammie King!




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Date: Jul 4, 2006
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Yes.  See, what I did there was take the word amputee and cleverly manipulated it to include the word ant.  It was jolly funny and may go down in history as one of the greatest comedy moments.  Ever.

-- Edited by ddvmor at 10:04, 2006-07-04

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bonniepirateanne


I ain't a Pirate and I ain't called Anne, but I sure am Bonnie!

(Mrs)




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Date: Jul 4, 2006
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oh right

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sha76jam


Cpt Acorn Short of An Oaktree


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Date: Jul 4, 2006
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Darren?  Please coul you o something useful & make us a tumble-weed icon?

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Aodan


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Date: Jul 5, 2006
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