A new LED device may help keep drivers awake during long hauls
Bye-bye, NoDoz. New Scientist reports today that researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are developing a new technology designed to help truckers stay alert through all-night hauls. Instead of popping stimulants, drivers may soon rely on special LED lights to reset the body’s internal clock.
The lights, which cast an eerie blue glow and emit light spectra of 450 and 470 nanometers, could potentially be installed in truck cabs, or delivered in “light showers” at truck stops along major shipping routes. Another alternative would be to build the lights into goggles, which the drivers could wear for a set period of time before taking off.
Mariana Figueiro, author of the paper published by Rensselaer Polytechnic, has already tested the goggle device on Alzheimer’s patients with impaired circadian rhythms. “After 45 minutes there is a clear effect,” Figueiro told New Scientist. “You start to see a beautiful increase in brain activity in the 300 milliseconds response, which is a measure of alertness.”
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To study wolf populations, researchers enlist an innovative new call-and-respond system
Researchers use a range of digital technologies in the field to study animal populations. GPS collars and tags track range and migration; motion-sensitive cameras snap candid photos; pre-recorded calls and songs attract individuals so the scientists can get a closer look. Now a new tool has been added to the field arsenal for University of Montana biologists studying wolves in Idaho: the Howlbox.
The Howlbox takes the concept of attracting animals with recorded calls a few steps further. Programmed to “wake” and “sleep” with the animals, it broadcasts an audible wolf call when the wolves are active and then records their replies. Later, the researchers use audio software to identify the frequencies of each wolf’s call on the recordings, allowing them to count individuals in a population.
The study comes at a critical time for the wolf populations of the West. They are scheduled to be delisted from the Federal Endangered Species Act later this month, which means funding for more involved aerial surveillance and collared tracking will be ending as well.
Via NY Times
The early bird may catch the worm—but what’s it doing out and about anyway?
Spring is close at hand in New England, which means we’re getting a lot of rain and the robins are out in force. You’ve certainly seen flocks of the orange-breasted birds out on a wet lawn running and stopping, running and stopping, then pouncing on a worm. It’s a common springtime scene; but why exactly do the worms come out when it rains and expose themselves to hungry birds?
Robins are among the first each year to breed and lay eggs. Chances are, if you see robins during in the spring, they’re already making nests. And while they feed on a variety of invertebrates, fruits, and seeds, they prefer earthworms for their young. They gather together on lawns to feed because the group dynamic gives them protection from cats and hawks. Using their sharp eyesight, they spot worms in the grass (contrary to popular lore, they aren’t listening to the worms in the ground).
Generally, however, earthworms are loathe to come to the surface as they rapidly lose moisture when exposed to UV rays. Your driveway in the summertime is probably a graveyard of crusty worms, a good example of the dangers of leaving their natural surroundings.
When it rains heavily, though, the worms have little choice. Earthworms get their oxygen from the soil in which they live. When that environment becomes more water than air, they come to the surface to “breathe” just like we do when we’re swimming. And that exposes them to predators: A field day for the robins.
