influenced | Common News Update

Oct152019 by adminNo Comments

Nightjar’s feeding, migration influenced by lunar cycle

Science

Oct. 15 (UPI) -- The timing of the moon's light-dark cycle drives not only the nightjar's feeding patterns, but also the time of the bird's migration. Nightjars are a family of medium-sized nocturnal insectivores found all over the world. The European nightjar, Caprimulgus europeaus, is characterized by its intricately patterned grey and brown plumage. The birds prefer dry, open country with only a scattering of trees and shrubs. They migrate to sub-Saharan Africa for the winter and return to Europe in the spring to breed. Scientists used a sophisticated GPS tracking system to plot the movement of 39 European nightjars over the course of several weeks. The data showed the birds doubled the amount of time they spent feeding at night when the sky was lit by the moon. The data showed all of...

Jun242019 by adminNo Comments

‘No evidence’ Russia influenced Brexit result via Facebook, Clegg says

Technology

By Lucia Binding, news reporter There is "absolutely no evidence" that Russia influenced the Brexit result by using Facebook, Sir Nick Clegg has said.The tech giant's vice president said Facebook has run two full analyses of the data it held in the run-up to the 2016 referendum, and found no "significant attempt" by outside forces to influence the vote's outcome. Sir Nick argued on BBC Radio 4 that "the roots to British euroscepticism go very deep". Image: Facebook was not used to influence the Brexit result, Sir Nick said Brexit opponents have repeatedly questioned whether the Kremlin played a role in the vote by promoting stories online on issues including immigration in a bid to sway opinion.Th...

Jul62018 by adminNo Comments

Child obesity could be influenced by mom's lifestyle habits: Study

Health

Why are more children becoming obese by medical standards and what effect could their moms have? That's what researchers in a new study wanted to find out. Nearly 1 in 5 children in the U.S. younger than 19 has a body mass index defined as obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers in the study looked back at surveys showing some of the lifestyle habits of moms and their children over several years to find out what could be contributing to childhood obesity. Their findings, published in the British Medical Journal, suggest that mothers who follow five specific habits may reduce the risk of obesity in their offspring. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health analyzed data of just over 24,000 children ages 9 to 18 enrolled in the Gro...

Mar152018 by adminNo Comments

Changing environment influenced human evolution

Science

Humans may have developed advanced social behaviours and trade 100,000 years earlier than previously thought.This is according to a series of papers published today in Science. The results come from an archaeological site in Kenya's rift valley. "Over one million years of time" is represented at the site, according to Rick Potts from the Smithsonian Institution, who was involved in the studies. There are also signs of developments in toolmaking technologies.Environmental change may have been a key influence in this evolution of early Homo sapiens in the region of the Olorgesailie dig site.The world turned upside downEarly humans were in the area for about 700,000 years, making large hand axes from nearby stone, explained Dr Potts."[Technologically], things changed very slowly, if at all, o...

Oct52017 by adminNo Comments

Scientists find more modern human traits influenced by Neandertal DNA

Science

Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Researchers have identified several new traits in modern humans that are influenced by Neandertal genes.Roughly 2 percent of the modern human genome is inherited from Neandertals. Previous studies have linked Neandertal DNA with a handful of modern diseases and immunity, proof our closest ancestors continue to impact our physiology.Now a new study, published this week in the American Journal of Human Genetics, suggests Neandertal DNA also influences traits unrelated to disease, including skin tone, hair color, sleep patterns and mood.Researchers surveyed the genomic data of 112,000 participants in the UK Biobank pilot study, searching for connections between genetic variations, or alleles, inherited from Neandertals and traits related to physical appearance.The analysis con...