Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Human-associated Species Dominate Restroom Bacterial Communities
The results of a recent study characterizing microbial communities in public restrooms may be enough to change the ways of those who don't already wash their hands after using the...
Humans ‘fishing for 42,000 years’
Humans have been experts at catching fish in deep seas since 42,000 years ago, a new study shows.
Rebuilding the brain’s circuitry
Neuron transplants have repaired brain circuitry and substantially normalized function in mice with a brain disorder, an advance indicating that key areas of the mammalian brain are more reparable...
Surprise role of nuclear structure protein in development
Scientists have long held theories about the importance of proteins called B-type lamins in the process of embryonic stem cells replicating and differentiating into different varieties of cells. New research...
Apple store Black Friday blackout
Early birds looking to take advantage of discounts on Apple online store told to come back later
Aeroacoustics of Flight: 'Singing' Hummingbird Tails
Wind tunnel studies reveal how hummingbird feathers produce such varied sounds during their courtship displays.
New butterfly species identified in Yucatan peninsula
About 160,000 species of butterflies and moths are already known, but scientists believe that a similar number still remain undiscovered. Identification and characterisation of these species can be complicated by...
A wasp smaller than an amoeba
Imagine a wasp that is smaller than an amoeba. It seems impossible. How could you make a complete wasp, with wings, legs, eyes and a brain, and have it end...
Yeast enter the digital age
The age of synthetic biology is growing rapidly. A cornerstone of this field is inserting the genes from one organism into a different organism in order to get them to...
Nature or Nurture – You decide…. Or do you?
Have you ever known identical twins and wondered why they don’t look exactly the same? Why if two individuals have exactly the same genes don’t they look the same? Similarly,...
Oil palms and conservation -- do they mix?
Conservation science can help protect the variety of living things in tropical landscapes even if they are being turned into oil palm plantations, new research argues.
Blocking cancer’s path
Simple synthesis of natural product that can stop cell signalling pathway for cancer studies
VIDEO: Breeding hopes for Barbary lions
Conservationists at a Kent zoo have started attempts to breed an endangered species of lion.
Green Blog: Global Trade Spreads a Fatal Amphibian Disease
A fungal disease known as chytrid, lethal to most amphibians, is spread by trade in exotic animals, a study has found.
Neuroscientists find that two rare autism-related disorders are caused by opposing malfunctions in the brain
(Medical Xpress) -- Most cases of autism are not caused by a single genetic mutation. However, several disorders with autism-like symptoms, including the rare Fragile X syndrome, can be traced...
Bat Skulls And Evolution
Why do some lineages develop many species, while others don’t? Morphological innovations, ecological opportunities, competition, cooperation, …? Thanks to advances in phylogenetic techniques, it is now becoming possible to have...
Recipient doing well after first artificial windpipe graft
The word's first artificial windpipe transplant has been such a success that a second operation has been carried out and a third is being planned, The Lancet reported on Thursday.
Baby Bumps Slow Dolphins Down
Pregnant cetaceans swim less efficiently, making them more vulnerable to predators
More U.S. science degrees by foreign-born
WASHINGTON, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Native-born and foreign-born people in the United States are just as likely to have a college degree, but more foreign-born are engineers, officials say.
Closer to a cure for eczema
Scientists have found that a strain of yeast implicated in inflammatory skin conditions, including eczema, can be killed by certain peptides and could potentially provide a new treatment for these...
Video: Scientists slow aging in fruit flies
Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have slowed the aging process in fruit flies, by manipulating a gene that is also present in humans. Felipe Maya reports.
Native American Blankets Made With Dog Hair
Coast Salish people wove fur of an unusual canine into their textiles
DNA system developed to identify and authenticate plant species
Biologists have developed a method which can detect the use of illegal or counterfeit plants in medicine and could also be used to boost conservation by identifying and monitoring the...
Scientist at Work Blog: Quail Sightings and Breakfast Companions
A researcher's encounters with the elusive elegant quail leaves her with the realization that there is much to learn about the little-studied species.
Conservation Culture: Shaping Your Feelings Towards Environmentalism?
What determines how people feel about important conservation issues such as the role and importance of wilderness areas, anthropogenic development, and the use of natural resources? According to conservationist Rebecca...
How drought-tolerant grasses came to be
If you eat bread stuffing or grain-fed turkey this Thanksgiving, give thanks to the grasses a family of plants that includes wheat, oats, corn and rice. Some grasses, such...
Fruit Bat’s Short Snouts Pack Harder Bite
One fifth of all mammals are bats, who eat insects, frogs to fruit and nectar. The New World Fruit-Eating Bat has a unique head shape, with a strong bite that...
Can The Bulldog Be Redesigned?
Bulldog brandon.weight via FlickrThe breed risks collapsing under its own traits Here at PopSci we frequently talk about genetic modification, the process of interrupting or editing gene sequences to introduce new traits that...