Daniel J. Tobiansky, Meredith C. Miles, Franz Goller, and Matthew J. Fuxjager

Performance trade-offs can dramatically alter an organism's evolutionary trajectory by making certain phenotypic outcomes unattainable. Understanding how these trade-offs arise from an animal's design is therefore an important goal of biology. To explore this topic, we study how androgenic hormones, which regulate skeletal muscle function, influence performance trade-offs relevant to different components of complex reproductive behaviour. We conduct this work in golden-collared manakins (Manacus vitellinus), a Neotropical bird in which males court females by rapidly snapping their wings together above their back. Androgens help mediate the snap displays by radically increasing the twitch speed of a dorsal wing muscle [scapulohumeralis caudalis (SH)], which actuates the bird's wing-snap. Through hormone manipulations and in situ muscle recordings, we test how these positive effects on SH speed influence trade-offs with endurance. Indeed, this trait impacts the display by shaping signal length. We find that androgen-dependent increases in SH speed incur a cost to endurance, particularly when this muscle performs at its functional limits. Moreover, when behavioural data are overlaid on our muscle recordings, displaying animals appear to balance display speed with fatigue-induced muscle fusion (physiological tetanus) to generate the fastest possible signal while maintaining an appropriate signal duration. Our results point to androgenic hormone action as a functional trigger of trade-offs in sexual performance—they enhance one element of a courtship display, but in doing so, impede another.

Video has quickly become the number one way to connect with buyers, viewers, and followers. For B2B sellers, a strategic video marketing approach tailored to […]

The post How to Create an Interactive Video Strategy for Your B2B appeared first on e-Learning Feeds.

A program that combines artificial intelligence and geometrical modelling can create an accurate 3D model of your face from a single 20-second video

This unusual contraption recreates the sounds of an old-school mechanical typewriter on a modern keyboard.

The enormous black hole at the centre of the Milky Way was active millions of years ago, and its intense X-rays may have formed some molecules necessary for life

This is a video of the result of Youtuber Lil'Alien [Agentalex9 Alt.] feeding Rick Astley's rickrolling classic 'Never Gonna Give You Up' into the Jukebox neural network developed by OpenAI to create more song lyrics for the song. The music video consists of AI upscaled gifs from the original video. If you're really interested in the technology utilized and just what the hell is going on, there are a bunch of links on the video's Youtube page HERE. I just managed to watch the whole video and I can attest that, uh, that was really something. "Something good?" Haha, now let's not get ahead of ourselves. Keep going for whatever this is.

Neuroscientists at the Allen Institute for Brain Science have released the third version of their Allen Mouse Brain Common Coordinate Framework (CCFv3). A mouse brain contains approximately 100 million cells across hundreds of different regions. As neuroscience datasets grow larger and more complex, a common spatial map of the brain becomes more critical, as does [...]

Banksy has revealed his latest work - a series of rats causing mayhem in his bathroom - during the coronavirus lockdown.

Coronavirus: the symptoms Follow our live updates here

As the coronavirus pandemic continues worldwide, one woman in New York has devised a simple system to ease the financial burden for those risking their lives on the frontline.

They want to 'bring a bit of colour' into people's lives amid the nationwide lockdown with balloon artwork

UK scientists have developed a new coronavirus antibody test which they say produces results in 35 minutes with 99.8 per cent accuracy.

NASA has awarded the University of Washington a $499,864 grant to develop a competition that calls on students to turn a simulated lava tube into a habitat suitable for harboring humans on the moon or Mars. The exploration and habitation skills competition will be funded as part of NASA's Artemis Student Challenges program, which plays off the themes of the Artemis moon program to inspire the next generation of explorers and engineers. The competition will involve navigating a rover through a facsimile lava tube and surface structures, generating maps, identifying valuable resources and deploying an airtight barrier to seal the… Read More

A Colombian advertising company is pitching a novel if morbid solution to shortages of hospital beds and coffins during the coronavirus pandemic: combine them. ABC Displays has created a cardboard bed with metal railings that designers say can double as a casket if a patient dies. Company manager Rodolfo Gómez said he was inspired to find a way to help after watching events unfold recently in nearby Ecuador.

Scientists have created glowing flowers after editing the DNA of a plant.

There is no time like the present to get creative. Photographer Stephanie Girard is normally bustling about on the set of different photoshoots across Los Angeles but with the ongoing...

Comedian is asking for nurses, retail workers and other key workers to record themselves marching to Tony Christie's cheesy hit

New York health authorities reported a spike in possible bleach exposure cases after Trump's now-infamous press briefing

The Mushroom Burial Suit is designed to give our dead bodies new life by breaking them down and nourishing the soil.

We can all relate now...

Naturally, Kim Kardashian's Bora Bora meltdown makes an appearance...

A round of applause for our carers

Hardworking wardrobe staples from one of luxury fashion's coolest sustainability stars

Lockdown is about to get considerably more fash-un

A little slice of couture for those who deserve it most

Heinz release jigsaw with all pieces coloured in its signature red hue

With all elite football on pause for the foreseeable, now is the perfect time to dust off those boots and give it a go yourself.

There is no time like the present to get creative. Photographer Stephanie Girard is normally bustling about on the set of different photoshoots across Los Angeles but with the ongoing...

It’s clear from a recent litany of disasters – from the coronavirus pandemic to America’s deadliest wildfire in a century – there are forces that cannot be domesticated

• Read an excerpt from the authors’ new book on the worst US wildfire in 100 years

About 12,000 years ago, human domestication of the natural world began in earnest with the intentional cultivation of wild plants and animals. Fast forward to today and our dominion over the planet appears complete, as 7.8 billion of us multiply across its surface and our reach extends from the deep-sea beds, which are being mined, to the heavens, where we are, according to Donald Trump, dispatching a space force.

Yet as has been made clear by a recent litany of disasters – from the coronavirus pandemic to America’s deadliest wildfire in a century – there are forces that cannot be domesticated. Indeed, our interference with the natural world is making them more liable to flare up into tragedy. We created the Anthropocene, and the Anthropocene is biting back.

The judge has previously denied the singer's attempts.

Televangelist Jim Bakker is being sued over his promotion of a coronavirus cure. Then there's Scalar Light, a Florida company that says it can "disassemble pathogens" at the quantum level.

The coronavirus has created a unique year for college football recruiting. With travel restricted and summer camps canceled, many recruits could up playing near home.

The ATP, WTA, ITF and four Grand Slam events have created a program to support players affected by the sport's coronavirus-related shutdown.

Michael Jordan often created a rivalry with an opponent like LaBradford Smith over a perceived slight to help fuel a desire to dominate on the court.

The first ever set of specific recommendations to support transgender autistic young people was co-created by these youth and their families working hand-in-hand with clinical experts. The resulting model offers clinicians a set of concrete ways to provide this unique population the support they need.

ITMO University researchers together with their colleagues from France and the USA have demonstrated how a femtosecond laser can be used to tune the structure and nanocomposite properties for titanium dioxide films filled with gold nanoparticles.

Characters created by Axel Scheffler from his popular books with Julia Donaldson are on the cover.

It is hoped the development will accelerate the search for promising new drug targets and treatments.

Spouse worries about alcoholism.

There is no time like the present to get creative. Photographer Stephanie Girard is normally bustling about on the set of different photoshoots across Los Angeles but with the ongoing...

But critics fear his third-party White House bid will only serve to reelect the president.

Supercar engineers are taking their skills from the racetrack to the ICU ward by creating a ventilator prototype to help during the coronavirus crisis.

Mack Molding and Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) have partnered to develop an innovative alternative for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers.

Manufacturer Atermit has begun producing face shields to protect users from Covid-19 using Expanded Polypropylene Particle (EPP) foam - Arpro.

Genmab has announced the establishment of the new position of Chief Operating Officer at the company, and has furthermore named Anthony Mancini to the post. In this new role, he will oversee the company’s commercial strategies, including corporate development, business development and information technology functions

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Almost half of Americans believe that the coronavirus was created in a lab, according to an April survey of 6,300 people.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today announced that more than $424 million in Recovery Act funds will go to 20 states, territories and the District of Columbia to maintain or increase public safety, while creating or retaining jobs within the law enforcement community.

A comprehensive Clean Water Act settlement with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) will address the flow of untreated sewage into Cleveland area waterways and Lake Erie.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today the creation of a new Professional Misconduct Review Unit to handle disciplinary actions for career attorneys at the Department of Justice that arise from Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) investigations and appointed Kevin Ohlson to be its Chief.