Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Rare Darwin drafts go online
Darwin is going digital. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species," the manuscripts detailing the theory of natural selection are being...
App Monitors App Power Use on Android Smartphone
A new smartphone app can help you find out which apps are battery hogs.
Biologists discover bacterial defense mechanism against aggressive oxygen
Bacteria possess an ingenious mechanism for preventing oxygen from harming the building blocks of the cell, according to new research.
Researchers find new piece of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) puzzle
A new treatment route for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and its human form Creutzfeldt Jakob disease could be a step closer based on new results from scientists in the UK....
UAB researchers discover antibody receptor identity, propose renaming immune-system gene
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have uncovered the genetic identity of a cellular receptor for the immune system's first-response antibody, a discovery that sheds new light...
Active hearing process in mosquitoes
A mathematical model has explained some of the remarkable features of mosquito hearing. In particular, the male can hear the faintest beats of the female's wings and yet is not...
Just like old times: Generating RNA molecules in water
A key question in the origin of biological molecules like RNA and DNA is how they first came together billions of years ago from simple precursors. Now, in a study...
New map of variation in maize genetics holds promise for developing new varieties
A new study of maize has identified thousands of diverse genes in genetically inaccessible portions of the genome. New techniques may allow breeders and researchers to use this genetic variation...
Dogs to sniff out the state of Vietnam's critically endangered rhinos
Highly trained detection dogs are being used help to determine the population status of the Javan rhino in Vietnam, in an attempt to save one of the world's rarest mammals...
UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News
New guidelines issued for Pap smears ... Frog legs spreading pathogen ... DNA barcodes used to identify species ... Catalina bison on birth control ... Health/Science news from UPI.
Low-tech approach stifles high-risk Nipah virus
Shielding palm-tree sap from fruit bats may limit spread of deadly disease
Atomic-level Snapshot Catches Protein Motor in Action (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- The atomic-level action of a remarkable class of ring-shaped protein motors has been uncovered by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory using a state-of-the-art protein crystallography beamline...
Asian carp close to Great Lakes
U.S. officials say the despised Asian carp may have breached an electronic barrier designed to prevent it from invading the Great Lakes.
Sponges against cancer
Deep under the sea, there's a battle of life and death going on, with no holds barred. Sponges and other marine animals which cannot move around might seem to be...
Genetic analysis helps dissect molecular basis of cardiovascular disease
Using highly precise measurements of plasma lipoprotein concentrations determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, researchers performed genetic association analysis across the whole genome among 17,296 women of European ancestry. This...
Potential Down Syndrome Therapy Works In Mice
A norepinephrine precursor helps reverse learning and memory difficulties in lab studies.
Controversial Stem Cell Experiment Could Treat the Blind
New and controversial transplant operation uses stem cells derived from spare human embryos.
Adding one single gene to yeast dramatically improves bioethanol production from agricultural waste
With the introduction of a single bacterial gene into yeast, researchers have achieved three improvements in bioethanol production from agricultural waste material: 'More ethanol, less acetate and elimination of the...
Flax and yellow flowers can produce bioethanol
Surplus biomass from the production of flax sheaves, and generated from Brassica carinata, a yellow-flowered plant related to those which engulf fields in spring, can be used to produce bioethanol.
Vaccine being developed to help smokers quit
(PhysOrg.com) -- Glaxo-SmithKline has joined forces with Nabi Pharmaceuticals to produce a vaccine to help smokers give up their addiction permanently.
The Worm That Turned Evolutionary Key
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Keelworm, widespread in the seas and tide-pools around Scotland and the rest of the UK, is unwittingly helping scientists at the University of St Andrews to understand...
When It Comes to Drug Delivery, Size Matters
(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the great promises of nanotechnologies lies in its ability to create drug-containing nanoparticles decorated with targeting molecules that recognize and bind to cancer cells, providing drug...
Mexican labs target adulterers with DNA testing
Suspect your significant other might be cheating on you? In Mexico, numerous laboratories are now offering a way to find out for sure -- DNA tests.
Biologists save fish after landslide
(AP) -- A gigantic landslide that buried a highway, uprooted homes and rerouted a river in Washington state's Cascade Range left hundreds of smaller victims: fish.
El Nino intensifies Latin America drought
From a devastating food crisis in Guatemala to water cuts in Venezuela, El Nino has compounded drought damage across Latin America this year.
University Weighs Tighter Limits on Stem Cell Research
The University of Nebraska would be the first such institution to set stricter limits than what national or state law allows.
On The Origin Of Nematodes: Phylogenetic Tree Of World's Most Numerous Group Of Animals
Scientists have published the largest nematode phylogenetic tree up until now. It contains over 1,200 species and is entirely based on the analysis of DNA sequence data.
New research into the mechanisms of gene regulation
A team led by Penn State's Ross Hardison, T. Ming Chu Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has taken a large step toward unraveling how regulatory proteins control the production...