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14 | NewScientist | 21 January 2012 MORE tales of the unexpected from the natural world: rising industrial emissions may have inadvertently boosted the soaring speed, and reproductive success, of the wandering albatross. Over the last 50 years, westerly winds in the southern hemisphere have become faster and shifted polewards, a trend that has been linked to increasing emissions of greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting chemicals. Henri Weimerskirch at the Chizé Centre for Biological Studies in Villiers-en-Bois, France, has found that wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) on the Southern Ocean’s Crozet Islands may reap the benefits. Soaring flight is influenced by wind speeds, and has become faster in the last decade, allowing the birds to shorten their foraging Recycling is good for your health RECYCLING isn’t just good for the environment, it is also good for your health. Beth Levine at the University of Texas in Dallas discovered that, in mice, autophagy – the process by which a cell recycles dispensable components for extra energy – increases 30 minutes into exercise. Exercise protects against diabetes by increasing glucose uptake. Levine’s team wondered whether autophagy might be involved, so compared the effects of exercise on normal mice and mutant mice that could not increase autophagy. The normal mice shed excess fat and reversed early signs of diabetes, while the mutants only lost fat (Nature, DOI: 10.1038/nature10758). Rather than just providing fuel, exercise-induced autophagy appears to help cells fine-tune their glucose metabolism. Drugs that boost autophagy may mimic these effects, says Levine. I’m no Ringo Starr but I do have my own style KEITH MOON and Ringo Starr had their own individual drumming styles, and if you listen closely enough you will find this guy (pictured above) does too. Male ruffed grouse are the first animals known to make unique non-vocal sounds. Humans and many other animals, particularly birds, can be identified by their voices. But no one had looked to see if non-vocal sounds are similarly unique, says Andrew Iwaniuk of the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada. Iwaniuk studies male ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus), which drum by beating their wings on logs. MATTHIAS BREITER/MINDEN PICTURES/FLPA IN BRIEF A speedy wanderer am I… trips. Shorter trips mean the males and females – who share parental duties – can shorten their incubating shifts at the nest, improving both their health and that of the brood (Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1210270). The curious effect is likely to be short-lived: climate models predict that wind strength will continue to rise, and may soon be unfavourable for soaring – bad news for albatross populations, which are generally in decline. Each bout lasts about 10 seconds and contains up to 50 pulses. Iwaniuk and his team recorded 449 drumming displays from 23 males and found that the number of pulses in each bout and the rate at which they were produced were unique to each individual (Ethology, DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2011.02011.x). Females might rely on the drumming to recognise particular males during the mating season, says Iwaniuk. In theory there are benefits to being recognisable, agrees Elizabeth Tibbetts of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Another example would be maintaining your place in the pecking order. But both researchers say it is not yet clear whether the grouse do make use of their distinctive calls or if they are simply an evolutionary accident. COMPRESSION garments worn by athletes to keep muscles warm may improve performance by reducing muscle fatigue. Dale Lovell and colleagues at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, measured lactate levels in 25 rugby players after they’d exercised wearing either spandex- like compression garments or regular shorts. Lactate levels were significantly lower in players kitted out in the compression garments, possibly because they stimulate blood flow that clears the substance. Lactate is associated with muscle fatigue, quick removal may improve performance (Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31821764f8). No panting with compression pants
