Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Pierino-brand frozen jumbo shells recalled
WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the recall of Pierino-brand frozen jumbo shells with cheese because they contain undeclared eggs.
Study: Ponseti therapy best for clubfeet
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- A study of clubfoot patients in New Zealand has compared two common treatments for the condition and found one of them is...
Genetic test for 'speed gene' in thoroughbred horses
Groundbreaking research led by a leading horse genomics scientist in Ireland has resulted in the identification of the 'speed gene' in thoroughbred horses.
Stem cells aid nerve cells by contact
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A Swedish-led team of medical scientists says it has discovered how transplanted stem cells can connect with and rescue threatened neurons and brain...
Scientists map the soybean genome
COLUMBIA, Mo., Feb. 2 (UPI) -- University of Missouri scientists say they've mapped the soybean genome and identified 1.1 million base pairs of DNA, including more than 90 distinct...
Some primates share, but others ... not so much
No matter how enticing the toy, bonobo apes always share, according to two recently published studies. Primate - Ape - Movies - Arts - Chimpanzee
Scientists create new way to screen libraries of 10 million or more compounds
The search for new drug compounds is probably worse than looking for a needle in a haystack because scientists are limited in the size of the haystacks they can rummage...
Ability to navigate may be linked to genes
New research for the first time links genes to our ability to orient ourselves to the world around us an then navigate through it.
Forests are growing faster, ecologists discover; Climate change appears to be driving accelerated growth
Speed is not a word typically associated with trees; they can take centuries to grow. However, a new study finds evidence that forests in the Eastern United States are growing...
Viruses lure insects to infected plants
STATE COLLEGE, Pa., Feb. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. entomologists say they've discovered a common plant virus lures aphids to infected plants and then uses the aphids as transportation to...
Argonautes: A big turn-off for proteins
Johns Hopkins scientists believe they may have figured out how genetic snippets called microRNAs are able to shut down the production of some proteins...
Evolution impacts environment, challenging traditionally held view
Biologists have known for long that ecology, the interaction between organisms and their environment, plays a significant role in forming new species and in modifying living ones. The traditional view...
Managed wolf populations could restore ecosystems
Wildlife researchers argue that advances in animal control techniques mean it should be feasible and acceptable to introduce small, managed populations of wolves into a variety of parks and other...
Beetles Inspire Human Wall Walking
A palm-sized device invented at Cornell that uses water surface tension as an adhesive bond just might make walking on walls possible for humans. The rapid adhesion mechanism could lead...
High-throughput analysis of gene regulation, DNA synthesis in Cold Spring Harbor Protocols
COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. (Mon., Feb. 1, 2010) -- Mapping DNase I hypersensitive sites has long been the standard method for identifying genetic regulatory elements such as promoters, enhancers,...
Observatory: No Place Like Foam for Tropical Frogs
There are hundreds of species of frogs that build their nest out of foam, as a home for eggs or larvae.
Observatory: How Seabirds Follow Fishing Boats’ Routine
Researchers report that fishing-boat discards can affect seabirds’ patterns of movement on large scales.
Observatory: Why Asexual Organisms Are on Their Last Legs
One hypothesis is that asexual organisms have locked up their genome, while their pathogenic enemies are constantly evolving to defeat them.
Humble garden pea helps scientists develop 'cool,' noninvasive diagnostic test of seed quality
Scientists from Kew's Millennium Seed Bank in the United Kingdom and the University of Graz, Austria, have developed a rapid, new method to diagnose seed quality non-invasively and in real...
Engineers develop cancer-targeting nanoprobe sensors
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at UC Berkeley have created smart nanoprobes that may one day be used in the battle against cancer to selectively seek out and destroy tumor cells, as...
Rwanda's Forest of Hope to expand by 21 percent, begin corridor for endangered chimpanzees
Efforts will begin this year to expand the Gishwati National Conservation Park in Rwanda by 21 percent and begin the development of a 30-mile (50 km) forest corridor to Nyungwe...
Experiment takes aim at genetic learning disorder
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A pill to ease a type of mental retardation? An experiment is under way to develop one, aimed at a genetic disorder that...
If You Swat, Watch Out: Bees Remember Faces
Researchers determined that the insect, like humans, used a technique that pieces together the elements of a face to form a recognizable pattern.
Saving Tiny Toads Without a Home
Conservationists who have worked for years to sustain the Kihansi spray toad are unsure it can survive if it is returned to the wild.
Geoffrey Beale obituary
Scientist and founder of malaria geneticsGeoffrey Beale, who has died aged 96, will be remembered for his key work on the genetics of two microscopic organisms: paramecium, a harmless bug that lives in...
Genetically-modified mice reveal another mechanism contributing to heart failure
Scientists at the Robarts Research Institute at The University of Western Ontario, working in collaboration with researchers in Brazil, have used a unique genetically-modified mouse line to reveal a...
Fish caught evolving into three different species
By essentially catching one species in the process of turning into three, a new study suggests that conservation efforts might be failing a variety of species that have yet to...
Studies provide insight into key oat chemical
Studies conducted by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are helping to increase understanding about the environmental factors that regulate production of avenanthramides (Avns), metabolites with potent antioxidant properties, in oat...