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Identifying the metabolically active sites for derived carote-noids that colour avian feathers and determining whether ornot different species may use different mechanisms of colourproduction are crucial for understanding the evolution of theornament. However, the role of liver versus follicles, the twocandidate sites suggested by previous authors, remainscontentious (McGraw 2009;delValetal.2009).The absence of certain carotenoids in the food of somered-coloured birds led to the proposal that the liver, as themost active metabolic site in any vertebrate, was the organwhere those non-dietary carotenoids were metabolised (seedel Val et al. 2009 and references therein). The fact thatseveral studies failed to find traces of metabolically derivedplumage carotenoids in liver and plasma (Stradi 1998;Inouye 1999; McGraw 2004) led to the hypothesis thatsome colourful passerines might convert some red pigmentsdirectly in the skin. However, no conclusive studiesconfirming the occurrence of ketocarotenoid synthesisenzymes in feather follicles have so far been published,and there are no clear evidences to definitively confirm thisproposal. In our recent paper in this journal (del Val et al.2009), we demonstrated that the red derivative 3-hydroxy-echinenone was indeed present in the liver and plasma ofwild moulting crossbills. Although we have been criticisedfor using relatively few individuals for our liver analysis(McGraw 2009), ours is a qualitative evidence irrespectiveof sample size, and killing tens of birds would not hadprovided any additional support to the obvious.It has been established that 3-hydroxy-echinenone has tobe converted from other dietary carotenoids present in smallamounts in all green plants, most probably β-cryptoxanthin(Stradietal.1996, see also McGraw 2004). Femalecrossbills display a yellow-greenish coloration basedmainly on canary xanthophylls A and B (Stradi et al.1996), and no trace of 3-hydroxy-echinenone has ever beenfound in their plumage. The fact that both sexes feed on thesame diet (Cramp and Perrins 1994) strongly supports theidea that 3-hydroxy-echinenone is not of dietary origin andmay be therefore converted from ingested yellow precursors.Furthermore, we also analysed by HPLC extracts of severalpotential food sources of common crossbills from our studyarea, including pine cones, buds, young needles, strobili,pollen, and various fruits. However, we found no trace of3-hydroxy-echinenone in any of our samples (see Table 1).The most parsimonious explanation for our findings isthat 3-hydroxy-echinenone is directly converted fromdietary yellow precursors all at once in the liver and thatit is later transported via the bloodstream to those folliclesspecifically admitting the transformed pigment. The same

This part of the paper deals with the neurophysiological background of speech analysis and hearing of music. Single vowel- and consonant-detector cells could be clearly separated at the colliculus and geniculate level (Kallert, Keidel). Musical stimulation is decoded at three levels: hair cells, geniculate, and auditory cortex. Human cortical evoked potentials represent rhythm, consonance, and (as DC-shift) the emotional content of music. Marked harmonics, even of single hair-cell vibrations and in single units of medial geniculate in combination with clock-cell networks, are the physiological basis of "harmony" in music. Dissonant stimuli are detectable at the cortical level in man (Finkenzeller, Keidel).

In this paper a systematic approach to the mathematical modeling of intracellular Ca2+ oscillations is introduced. After a structured analysis a stochastic model of the system is derived which is numerically tractable by means of a stochastic simulation. A critical discussion of theoretical models for Ca2+ oscillations reveals that not all of the proposed mechanisms are consistent with experimental data. In addition, a model for oscillatory calcium waves is presented. Uncovering these mechanisms facilitates the design of anti-mitotic drugs interfering with Ca2+ metabolism.

The conservation of rock-art paintings in European caves is a matter of increasing interest. This derives from the bacterial colonisation of Altamira Cave, Spain and the recent fungal outbreak of Lascaux Cave, France-both included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Here, we show direct evidence of a fungal colonisation of rock tablets in a testing system exposed in Altamira Cave. After 2 months, the tablets, previously sterilised, were heavily colonised by fungi and bacteria. Most fungi isolated were labelled as entomopathogens, while the bacteria were those regularly identified in the cave. Rock colonisation was probably promoted by the dissolved organic carbon supplied with the dripping and condensation waters and favoured by the displacement of aerosols towards the interior of the cave, which contributed to the dissemination of microorganisms. The role of arthropods in the dispersal of spores may also help in understanding fungal colonisation. This study evidences the fragility of rock-art caves and demonstrates that microorganisms can easily colonise bare rocks and materials introduced into the cavity., The authors acknowledge support through a contract with the Ministry of Culture, Spain, and projects CGL2006- 07424/BOS, CGL2006-11561/BTE and CGL2004-05969/BTE. This is a TCP CSD2007-00058 paper.

The Arnold Berliner Award is presented for the first time this year, as part of the 100-year birthday celebration of Naturwissenschaften (Fig. 1, Thatje 2013). It is my great pleasure to announce the first recipient of the award, Dr Mark Young (University of Edinburgh), in this editorial. Mark Young (Fig. 2) was nominated for his work on the iconic Diplodocus, which, as a sauropod dinosaur, belonged to the largest terrestrial herbivores to ever have roamed Earth. Their pure size may have pushed them to the evolutionary limits of vertebrate biomechanics. In his paper published in Naturwissenschaften (Young et al. 2012), Mark and his colleagues presented a compelling multidisciplinary approach demonstrating that the gigantic Diplodocus was unlikely to have employed its bizarre dentition for a previously suggested bark-stripping hypothesis feeding strategy, and that the rather unusual (aberrant) dentition of Diplodocus may have, instead, demonstrated an adaptation for food procurement rather than an adaptation to high mechanical bite force. This would suggest that Diplodocus had a skull which was seemingly over-engineered for muscle-driven biting alone; the reason for which may have been related to other behavioral or ecological traits. This paradigmchanging discovery was only possible by making use of modern technology, the computed tomographic scanning of a fossil specimen of a Diplodocus longus skull from museum collection, and subsequent modeling of its biomechanics of feeding. The Arnold Berliner Award was established in recognition of the founding editor of the journal. The award is sponsored by Springer Science+Business Media and is given annually for the best research article published in NAWI during the previous calendar year (Thatje 2012). Criteria are excellence in science, originality, and in particular interdisciplinarity

The phenomenon called “cold fusion” or “low-energy nuclear reaction” (Storms 2007) has now reached a stage when explanations are attracting attention. The major experimental work was summarized by Storms in 2010 (Storms 2010). Now, Krivit has cited “errors” in this review which he believes might guide an explanation in the wrong direction. He notes that heat, detected using light hydrogen and when transmutation occurred, was frequently overlooked in this review. In addition, in his opinion, the claim for d + d = He being the major source of heat is not supported by the cited evidence. Because the conclusion reached by Krivit (2013) is a direct challenge to what Storms (2010) reviewed in the cited paper, a summary of the evidence is required. Although many studies resulting in heat production using deuterium did not attempt to measure helium, over 16 independent studies using numerous samples found that helium was present when energy production was detected and some measurements found no helium when no extra energywas detected. Three independent studies measured the energy/He ratio, which can be summarized as 25±5 MeV/He. All other known reactions that produce helium result in less energy/helium atom. For example, the proposed reaction of 3Li+2n=2He + e − produces only 13.4 MeV/He. Readers must decide for themselves if this is enough evidence to go forward in search for an explanation based on helium as the major nuclear product before additional studies are made. All isotopes of hydrogen, presumably, are involved in the cold fusion process. Most information comes from the use of deuterium because this isotope is most studied. In addition, many different nuclear reactions, including tritium formation (Storms 2007) and transmutation (Srinivasan et al. 2011) are observed. Although important, these are “side issues” to heat production because they have not been found to occur at a rate sufficient to make detectable power. Recent use of H2 + Ni to generate large power begs the question of how protons might generate energy by fusion or how transmutation of nickel might be the source. Proposed explanations have been published (Storms 2013) but are too complex to discuss here. Although changes in isotopic ratio are occasionally reported and elements not previously detected are found after power is made, none of these observations have a quantitative relationship to power production. In conclusion, numerous efforts to find an explanation are underway and are being tested. The phenomenon has novel features, it is not in conflict with any law of nature, and it is not caused by the well-known mechanism that produces hot fusion. An explanation must at least be consistent with laws known to apply to a chemical system and it must explain all observed behavior. Most explanations fail these two requirements and many others. A new window into understanding nuclear interaction has opened and must be explored using the best information available, which the review under discussion attempted to provide.

Several types of nesting associations, termed quasisocial (females more or less identical, no division of labor), semisocial (females of the same generation, with division of labor) and matrifilial (overlap of generations, with division of labor) are described in many primitively social hymenopteran species. In the latter two types, at least one potentially reproductive female forgoes her own reproduction in favor of that of a dominant female. Quasisociality is generally of a temporary nature, because dominance relations develop. It turns then into semisociality [11. The large carpenter bee Xylocopa sulcatipes in southern Israel has been described as forming both solitary and social nests [2, 3]. This paper shows that in certain associative nests founded by two females an extreme example of reproductive competition, oophagy, occurs. A X. sulcatipes egg measures approximately 11 mm in length and 2.2 mm in diameter; for an adult female of 22 mm body length, egg cannibalism therefore represents a significant loss of investment. X. su/catipes typically nests in twigs o f dead branches where the female excavates a straight tunnel. Females also use pre-existing cavities in stems of Arundo, Ferula and other plants existing naturally in the habitat. The female builds a linear array of cells [4]. Each is provisioned with pollen and nectar, and an egg is deposited upon the loaf-like food mass. Finally the cell is sealed with masticated wood. As part of a study on Xylocopa at Hazeva Field Centre, Arava Valley

This year, Naturwissenschaften celebrates its 100th anniversary. Springer’s flagship multidisciplinary science journal was founded in 1913, and the first print issue of Naturwissenschaften (NAWI) was published on January 3 of that year (Autrum 1988). Since 2009, the sub-title The Science of Nature has been published alongside the journal title; however, the original title in German remains the official name of the journal, recognizing its origins and strong connection to European history of the twentieth century. NAWI covers all aspects of the natural sciences, focusing on articles in biology, chemistry, geology, and physics. Published monthly, the journal is dedicated to the fast publication of high-quality, peer-reviewed research. Reviews, Original Articles, Concepts and Synthesis, Short Communications, and Comments and Replies are published as onlinefirst articles before appearing in print. From 2013, the print of color is for free. The journal was a reflection of the physical and chemical sciences of its time in its first decades; it then gradually developed to include topics of interest to the broader community in the biological sciences. Today, publications contribute mainly to questions of general biological significance and come from the chemical, biological, geological, and physical sciences. The goal for our second century is to promote the exchange of ideas in all topics related to the biological sciences and beyond. Some changes to the structure of the journal including article types have been implemented in support of this strategy (Thatje 2012a). We look forward to publishing papers in fields especially relevant to the science and society of the Twenty-first century, including areas such as global change, genomics, biorobotics, and neurobiology. In order to support this development, a “Special Article Theme” section will be launched later this year. For the 100th anniversary, the Arnold Berliner Award (Thatje 2012b) will be established in recognition of its founder who guided the development of the journal over the exceptionally long period of 22 years. The award will be given annually for the best research article published in Naturwissenschaften during the previous calendar year, and it is my special honor to announce the first awardee later this year. Honoring the efforts of the journal’s founding editor, Dr. Arnold Berliner, on the occasion of his 70th birthday, Albert Einstein wrote, “His journal cannot be thought away from the life of our time.” (Einstein 1932). Eightyyears on, Naturwissenschaften remains one of the primary multidisciplinary science journals. I invite you to celebrate the journal and science, following our birthday activities throughout the year and into the journal’s second century of existence. Happy birthday, Naturwissenschaften!