UO E-clips, July 18

Temperature wars (KATU Channel 2 NEWS, which aired story originally done by KVAL, Eugene): NEWSCASTER: When the weather heats up outside, temperatures inside obviously start to rise, too. And that can be a big problem at the office. Sharon Rogers and Amy Means work right next to each other, but their comfort zones are far apart. Sharon freezes in the summer, but Amy sweats. We asked a University of Oregon professor why people react so differently. CHRISTOPHER MINSON, HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY PROFESSOR: Usually when people are feeling cold or feeling a little warm, their body temperature hasn't actually changed. What is, perception is part of the behavioral response that causes them to seek out a warmer or cooler environment. NEWSCASTER: Minson says some people are just more sensitive to temperatures. It boils down to their internal system and how quickly they lose heat. (View the original KVAL story in both written and video format)

Fangs, claws and jaws pack metal (Symmetry Breaking): Spiders don’t have flashy metal fangs, but they do rely on metal deposits to make their fangs extra strong and fracture resistant. Scorpions, crabs, worms and other creatures also have metal atoms in their claws, jaws and fangs. … Robert M. S. Schofield of the University of Oregon, Michael H. Nesson of Oregon State University and Robert A. Scott of the University of Georgia are surveying as many creepy-crawlies as possible with a microprobe at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, hoping to shed light on the development of their unique structures and find common ancestors of these highly varied creatures.