Article Abstract:
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) has an important role in the feeding pathway of animals as well as humans. Animal research findings show that Y5, an NPY-receptor subtype, functions as feeding receptor in the hypothalamus. NPY-containing neurons in the paraventricular nucleus, lateral hypothalamus and thalamic nuclei are believed to produce Y5 receptors. Y5 may modulate both the release of and response to NPY, affecting it pre- and post-synaptically. Y5 and its role in feeding path have important implications for obesity and related eating disorders.
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Article Abstract:
Copepods have a substantial amount of control over their own lives with respect to mating. There are indications that females actively attract males and that they reject unsuitable partners. Circumstantial evidence suggests that males may follow chemical trails left by females. Indeed, chemical cues may feature quite extensively in copepod mating behaviour. It appears that mate discrimination depends on contact chemoreception, which is probably determined by lectin-like glycoproteins on the body surface.
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Article Abstract:
The Darwinian principle of natural selection of sexual characteristics has been supported by the research of Magnus Enquist and Anthony Arak. They used artificial neural networks to model pattern recognition for such features as tail size in birds, which are secondary sexual traits. The bias in the recognition models resulted in natural selection for traits, fitting Darwin's theory that females possess aesthetic preferences for sexual partners.
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