Stories of modern science ... from UPI

THE STEP TOWARD FLIGHT

University of Montana researchers have a theory that helps explain how reptiles -- dinosaurs -- evolved into flying birds. They say two-legged dinosaurs might have used their forelimbs as wing-like structures to propel themselves rapidly up steep inclines. Kenneth Dial, author of the National Science Foundation-backed report, says the transition to flight might have required a "ramp-up" phase in which rapid movement of the animal's front appendages actually forced its body downward to gain more foot traction as it made its way up increasingly vertical slopes. "The big dilemma has been, 'How do you explain the partial wing?,'" says Dial, a professor of vertebrate morphology and ecology. "It turns out the proto-wings -- precursors to wings birds have today -- actually acted more like a spoiler on the back of a race car to keep the animal sure-footed even while climbing up nearly vertical surfaces," he said.

PELVIC BONES HELPED MAMMALS TROT

Early mammals had two pelvic bones their ancestors today do not have and Ohio University and Buffalo State College researchers say they finally have figured out why. A study published in the journal Science suggests the bones were involved in locomotion. Studying opossums, one of the few types of animals that still has epipubic bones, researchers found they are attached to the pelvis and jut into muscles of the stomach. "Kind of like you had two pencils in your belly wall coming from your pelvis up to either side of your navel and they can move up and down," explained Steve Reilly, associate professor of biological sciences at Ohio University. Epipubic bones remain in some marsupials and scientists had thought they supported the animals' trademark pouch, moving together with attached muscles when the animals walk. When researchers placed opossums on a treadmill and observed their bones and muscles in motion, they found the bones move asymmetrically. "Instead of moving together, one bone is going up and the other is going down," Reilly said. "The epipubic bones act like fishing poles within the belly wall to pull one at a time diagonally across the body, stiffening the body during each trotting step."

AVOIDING A NAVAL MINEFIELD

The Office of Naval Research is sponsoring development of technology to help sailors and Marines avoid mines in the water. Four systems are being tested at Camp Pendleton in California. One is the Moving Map, a Naval Research Laboratory low-cost display that keeps an assault craft making an amphibious landing in its lane and out of harm's way. The narrower the lane needed, the faster it can be cleared of mines. Augmented Reality Visualization for the Common Operation Picture, developed by Technology Systems Inc., overlays navigation data on a ship pilot's field of view, displaying both navigational and tactical data. Merging camera images with computer-generated data helps navigators at night and during other periods of low visibility. The Expeditionary Warfare Decision Support System is a computer program that helps an amphibious landing force plan and execute an operation. The Littoral Remote Sensing program uses remote surveillance and reconnaissance to support expeditionary forces in very shallow water and onto a beach.

PROTEIN FUNCTION UNRAVELED

Saint Louis University researchers have discovered how a protein involved in the development of cancer functions in normal cells. An article today in the journal Molecular Cell, by Associate Professor Ali Shilatifard and colleagues, shows how the protein "Bre1" plays a pivotal role in determining how the protein "Rad6" functions in modifying chromosomal DNA. "This opens the door for further study of this protein in the regulation of gene expression," Shilatifard says. "Once we understand the normal, we will have a better understanding of where something is going wrong." He adds this could lead to ways to block the pathway and ultimately could stop cancer development. "You can look at a cancer cell as a runaway freight train. There may be a thousand ways to stop it. You can derail it, take all the screws from its wheels or stop giving it fuel. This is one strategy for stopping it," Shilatifard says.

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(EDITORS: For more information about REPTILES, contact Leslie Fink at (703) 292-8070 or e-mail lfink@nsf.gov. For PELVIC BONES, Steve Reilly, (740) 593-0424 or reilly@ohio.edu, for MINEFIELDS, John Petrik, (703) 696-5034 or petrikj@onr.navy.mil, and for CANCER PROTEIN, Matt Shaw, (314) 977-8018 or shawmr@slu.edu)