World's leading \nevolutionary biologist dies at 100\nCAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Ernst Mayr, one of the world's leading evolutionary biologists, died Thursday at a retirement community. He was 100. \nMayr was a longtime Harvard University faculty member. His work in the 1930s and '40s while he was a curator at the American Museum of Natural History in New York established him as a leading neo-Darwinist. He supported a theory of evolution that combines Darwin's natural selection theory and modern genetics. \nIn his travels in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, Mayr showed, unlike Darwin, that species can arise from isolated populations.\nBorn in Kempten, Germany, Mayr joined the Harvard faculty in 1953 as a zoology professor and led Harvard's Comparative Zoology museum from 1961 to 1970. He retired in 1975.
Study reveals fidgeting linked to weight loss\nInstead of a trip to the gym, researchers at the Mayo Clinic believe everyday pacing, fidgeting and restlessness may play a bigger role in whether someone is fat or thin, according to a small study of self-described couch potatoes.\nThe researchers recruited 10 mildly obese and 10 lean people to wear special underwear, which used technology developed for fighter jet control panels. Sensors embedded in the undergarments recorded their postures and movements every half-second, 24 hours a day, for 10 days.\nThe underpants look like bicycle shorts. The tops resemble undershirts for the men and sports bras for the women.\nSome 150 million lines of data were collected. Levine said it's the first time so much hard data has been compiled to show the different activity levels between lean and overweight people.\nThe researchers looked at the role of routine activities such as sitting, standing, walking and talking. The scientists found that the obese people they studied sat for about 150 minutes more a day on average than their lean subjects, and that meant they burned about 350 fewer calories a day. If the overweight subjects could match the behavior of their lean counterparts, it could lead to a weight loss of about 33 pounds a year, the study said.
Bloomington Hospital to offer free HIV testing \nIn recognition of February's focus on sexual health awareness, Bloomington Hospital's Positive Link program will offer free anonymous HIV testing with results in 20 minutes. Free HIV testing will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22, at the First United Methodist Church's Shalom Center, 219 E. Fourth St. \nThe Centers for Disease Control estimates between 850,000 and 950,000 Americans are living with HIV, and nearly 180,000 to 280,000 are unaware of their HIV infection. \nFor more information, call 353-3261. If you require special accommodations, contact the hospital at least two weeks prior to the presentation.
