Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Dark ocean depths home to exotic, unknown life
OSLO (Reuters) - The permanent darkness of the ocean depths is home to a far greater range of animals, from luminous jellyfish to tubeworms that live off oil seeping from...
Skin Color Is in the Eye of the Beholder
Political affiliation colors view of Barack Obama's skin tone [Read more]
Take Down Rampaging Elephants with Automatic Entangling Leg-Cords, Star Wars Style
A Mumbai engineer's "violent elephant control gear" will safeguard against beasts run amok Who you gonna call when a normally placid pachyderm decides to act out? Enter Zachariah Matthew, a Mumbai engineer who...
New research shows versatility of amniotic fluid stem cells
For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that stem cells found in amniotic fluid meet an important test of potential to become specialized cell types, which suggests they may be...
Beyond sunlight: Explorers census 17,650 ocean species between edge of darkness and black abyss
Census of Marine Life scientists have inventoried an astonishing abundance, diversity and distribution of deep sea species that have never known sunlight - creatures that somehow manage a living in...
"Dumbo," Other Deep-Sea Oddities Found
Oil-eating tubeworms and 15-tentacled sea cucumbers are among the 5,000 deep-dwelling species identified by the Census of Marine Life, a ten-year effort to chronicle life in the deep ocean.
It's a gas: New discovery may lead to heartier, high-yielding plants
In a research report published in the November 2009 issue of the journal Genetics, scientists show how a family of genes (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase, or ACS genes) are responsible for production...
Measuring and modeling blood flow in malaria
When people have malaria, they are infected with Plasmodium parasites, which enter the body from the saliva of a mosquito, infect cells in the liver, and then spread to red...
Giant Leap For Obstinate Targets
Sugar Chemistry: Parallel combinatorial synthesis yields 12 hard-to-make oligosaccharides.
Winemaking enhanced by DNA technology
In winemaking, grape juice is turned to wine during the fermentation process by the action of a number of essential beneficial microorganisms -- namely, bacteria. Sometimes, though, harmful bacteria also...
Use of rib cartilage grafts in rhinoplasty results in patient satisfaction, few complications
Rib cartilage from human donors is well tolerated as a grafting material in nasal plastic surgery and yields positive functional, structural and cosmetic results, even in complex cases, according to...
New research into the mechanisms of gene regulation
A team of scientists has taken a large step toward unraveling how regulatory proteins control the production of gene products during development and growth. They focused specifically on the complex...
Scientists find molecular trigger that helps prevent aging and disease
Researchers set out to address a question that has been challenging scientists for years: How does dietary restriction produce protective effects against aging and disease? And the reverse: how does...
How the brain filters out distracting thoughts to focus on a single bit of information
Researchers in Norway have discovered a mechanism that the brain uses to filter out distracting thoughts to focus on a single bit of information.
Analyzing structural brain changes in Alzheimer's disease
In a study that promises to improve diagnosis and monitoring of Alzheimer's disease, scientists have developed a fast and accurate method for quantifying subtle, sub-regional brain volume loss using magnetic...
Butterfly proboscis to sip cells
A butterfly's proboscis looks like a straw -- long, slender and used for sipping -- but it works more like a paper towel, according to researchers. They hope to borrow...
New cancer target for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Physician-scientists have discovered a molecular mechanism that may prove to be a powerful target for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects lymphocytes, or white blood...
Cancer metabolism discovery uncovers new role of IDH1 gene mutation in brain cancer
Cambridge, MA -- November 23, 2009 -- Agios Pharmaceuticals today announced that its scientists have established, for the first time, that the mutated IDH1 gene has a novel...
Worms' Paralysis Turned On and Off With Light
Dr. Horrible, take note: A light-sensitive chemical fed to tiny worms called nematodes caused the creatures to "freeze" when zapped with ultraviolet light, a new study says.
Clearer view of how eye lens proteins are sorted
New research reveals how proteins that are critical for the transparency of the eye lens are properly sorted and localized in membrane bilayers. The study analyzes how interactions between lipid...
Sweet as can be: How E. coli gets ahead
Scientists have discovered how certain bacteria such as Escherichia coli have evolved to capture rare sugars from their environment giving them an evolutionary advantage in naturally competitive environments like the...
Termites create sustainable monoculture fungus farming
Food production of modern human societies is mostly based on large-scale monoculture crops, but it now appears that advanced insect societies have the same practice. Our societies took just ten...
Tree-eating bugs threaten Monarch butterfly in Mexico
The mysterious Monarch butterfly, which migrates en masse annually between Canada and Mexico, is now facing a new peril: another insect thriving in Western Mexican forests.
Fish 'at risk' in acidified ocean
Fish reared in water acidified by CO2 may become "fatally attracted" to the smell of their predators, say scientists.
Uruguay to set up its first science academy
The Uruguayan government has approved the establishment of a National Academy of Sciences, and the first 15 members will be selected by other academies in the region.
U. of Nebraska Defeats Tighter Limits on Stem Cell Research
The effort had been seen by opponents as a possible new front in the national debate over the matter.
The march of the cyclamen | Noel Kingsbury
Shady, wintry spots will soon be full of these diminutive flowers, from deepest purple to pristine whiteHardy cyclamen used to be the preserve of enthusiasts who swapped plants and seed with elaborate collectors' numbers...
Where humans go, pepper virus follows
Plant pathogen could help track waters polluted with human waste