ANYONE who has handled the blood-sucking bugs, Triatoma or Rhodnius, must have observed that they are often attracted to the sides of their jars at places where these have been wanned by recent handling, and that they will probe such spots vigorously with the proboscis. This behaviour suggests that they are attracted to their host mainly by warmth—a belief which is supported by the recent obser...

The developmental process that determines the arrangement of ray sensilla in the Caenorhabditis elegans male tail has been studied. It is shown that the adult arrangement of rays is determined by the placement of ray cells at specific sites in the epidermis of the last larval (L4) stage. Placement of ray cells at specific epidermal sites results from the generation of neurons and support cells ...

Recent advances in the instrumentation technology of sensory substitution have presented new opportunities to develop systems for compensation of sensory loss. In sensory substitution (e.g. of sight or vestibular function), information from an artificial receptor is coupled to the brain via a human-machine interface. The brain is able to use this information in place of that usually transmitted...

We discuss a rule proposed by the biologist R.Thomas according to which the possibility for a genetic network (represented by a signed directed graph called a regulatory graph) to have several stable states implies the existence of a positive circuit. This result is already known for different models but always with a network of genes contained in a single cell. We consider here the genetics in...

Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sense Organs, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Bari, Italy Institut de Biologie-Biology of Adaptation and Aging (B2A), Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris 6, Paris, France Department of Clinical Neurosciences-Division of Stem Cell Neurobiology, Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council Stem Cell Institute and NIHR Biomedical Research Centr...

miR-263a/b are members of a conserved family of microRNAs that are expressed in peripheral sense organs across the animal kingdom. Here we present evidence that miR-263a and miR-263b play a role in protecting Drosophila mechanosensory bristles from apoptosis by down-regulating the pro-apoptotic gene head involution defective. Both microRNAs are expressed in the bristle progenitors, and despite ...

The otic primordium belongs to a group of related structures, the sensory placodes that contribute to the paired sense organs - ear, eye and olfactory epithelium - and to the distal parts of the cranial sensory ganglia. Recent evidence suggests that despite their diversity, all placodes share a common developmental origin and a common molecular mechanism which initiates their formation. At the ...

The cibarial armature of Anopheles (Cellia) stephensi Liston and Anopheles (Cellia) culicifacies Giles are described in detail for first time with the aid of SEM. A description of cibarial armature includes lateral flanges and cibarial teeth. Besides this, the number, distribution and type of sense organs also described.

In many animals, the effects of sensory feedback on motor output change during locomotion. These changes can occur as reflex reversals in which sense organs that activate muscles to counter perturbations in posture control instead reinforce movements in walking. The mechanisms underlying these changes are only partially understood. As such, it is unclear whether reflex reversals are modulated w...

Ibn Sina (1037 AD), also known as Avicenna in the West, is recognized as one of the forefathers of modern medicine. He was widely accepted as an influential and leading scientific figure of the medieval ages. His book the "Canon of Medicine" collected all aspects of medical knowledge available from ancient Greek and Muslim sources and also added his own. The medical information he collected ran...