By Mariel Emrich, Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School
Bipolar disorder is a condition in which people have mood swings. They have periods of happiness and periods of depression. Doctors are unsure what causes bipolar disorder. However, it is clear that bipolar disorder is carried down genetically, since the disorder runs in families. New research in 2011 suggests that rare copy number variants (CNVs) where sections of DNA are either duplicated or missing seem to play a major role in the risk for early onset bipolar disorder.

From searching for invertebrates to measuring wind speed, everyone can gain new knowledge and skills and play their part in protecting the natural environment. This is the philosophy of Open Air Laboratories (OPAL), a project based in England that encourages the public to explore their surroundings, record their findings, and submit their results to the OPAL national database making their contribution available to scientists and others involved in environmental science and policy.

Parasitoid wasps are usually considered beneficial insects because they attack common pests. But according to research by the Scottish Crop Research Institute, there’s one species that may be causing more harm than good. When a good guy goes bad, it’s bound to get interesting.

by Sage and Loraine, Coastal Studies for Girls
 
Recently, the girls here at Coastal Studies for Girls had the pleasure to hear a guest lecture by Dr. Collin Roesler. She is the chair of the Earth and Oceanographic Science Department at Bowdoin College. She joined us for dinner and delighted us with stories of phytoplankton and the Arctic and the Antarctic. Her presentation focused on phytoplankton blooms, which occur when species of microscopic algae in the sea flourish at certain times of the year.

Lilliputian life is all around us -- in trees and water, or as a team of U.S. scientists recently reported, in leaf litter on the forest floor. Indeed, it was beneath the leaves in the lowland rainforests of eastern Papua New Guinea where they discovered two new species of tiny frogs. The most diminutive of the two, at 7 to 8 mm in length, claims the title of world’s smallest vertebrate, and its discovery raises intriguing questions about the limits of extreme body size.

By Kaitlyn Gerber, Carleton College
The other day, we attended a lecture called "Toxic and Venomous Marine Organisms." (Or something along the lines of "things that can kill you." You get the drift.) I learned something very important: Australia has many, many creatures that can kill the unsuspecting traveler. Don't get me wrong -- this is a wonderful country, and I love it here. But since we're doing fieldwork here, with a future emphasis on snorkeling, it pays to be careful. So, if you're curious, here are a few of the things I've learned about surviving in Australia -- and a few of the creatures that I'll be watching out for.

Human obesity rates are soaring here in America. We take a very Bug Bytes look at how scientists are solving the problem, using insects! You’ll be surprised how insects regulate their body size and fitness. Do 10 jumping jacks and listen to this!

Pheidole ants, of which there are more than 1,100 known species, making the genus one of the largest in the taxonomic system, are known for their extraordinary diversity. And among their sundry forms is a “supersoldier” subcaste, a rare group of ant sumo wrestlers. But as a team of scientists from Europe, Canada, and the United States has discovered, although supersoldiers are produced by just a few Pheidole species and thus are infrequent in nature, all Pheidole ants have the potential to produce them, and they have possessed this ability since the genus evolved some 35 to 60 million years ago.

Click image above to view the video.

By Kaitlyn Gerber, Carleton College

Exactly a week ago, I arrived in Brisbane, Australia after close to 40 hours of travel. There was no time to sleep, though -- we arrived at 8 in the morning and got to work after roughly 48 hours with no sleep. When you travel to Australia, you lose a day because you cross the international dateline. Since I’m here studying ecology, I’m going to put up some more detailed information of Australian flora and fauna in my next few posts. For now, however, here’s a basic overview of the ecology of the Land Down Under.