Latest science news in Biology & Nature

Scientists map potato genetic sequencing draft

14 years ago from SciDev

An international scientific consortium published the genetic sequencing draft of the potato, what could help to improve its productivity.

New Species: Fanged Frog, More Found in Mekong

14 years ago from National Geographic

New species discovered along Asia's Mekong River in 2008—including a leopard gecko and a fanged frog that eats birds—are already under serious threat because of climate change, WWF says. Video.

C. Difficile Hypervirulence Genes Identified

14 years ago from Science Daily

Five genetic regions have been identified that are unique to the most virulent strain of Clostridium difficile, the hospital superbug. Researchers studied the genome of the bacterium, looking for genes...

Caltech scientists get detailed glimpse of chemoreceptor architecture in bacterial cells

14 years ago from

Using state-of-the-art electron microscopy techniques, a team led by researchers from Caltech has for the first time visualised and described the precise arrangement of chemoreceptors - the receptors that sense...

Just how much sun is enough to meet vitamin D needs?

14 years ago from LA Times - Health

You have said that people who get 10 to 15 minutes of sun exposure at one time can make enough vitamin D in their skin. On what percent of the...

Work arms and legs together

14 years ago from LA Times - Health

Here's an excellent way to simultaneously train the large muscles in your lower body and your shoulders and biceps. You can use a kettlebell or substitute a dumbbell.

France-Size Shark Sanctuary Created -- A First

14 years ago from National Geographic

The tiny island country of Palau has set aside a vast haven for sharks, which are plummeting due to rising demand for shark-fin soup.

Comprehensive understanding of bacteria could lead to new insights into many organisms

14 years ago from Physorg

Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research, University of California, San Diego, The Scripps Research Institute, Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation and other institutions have constructed a complete...

The State of the Art of Electronic Noses

14 years ago from PopSci

Three new e-noses use three different methods to sniff out everything from freon to fatty acids A rose by any other name would smell as sweet; we all know that. But what...

Engineers Track Bacteria's Kayak Paddle-like Motion For First Time

14 years ago from Science Daily

Engineers have for the first time observed and tracked E. coli bacteria moving in a liquid medium with a motion similar to that of a kayak paddle. The findings will...

US budget bears good news for chemistry

14 years ago from Chemistry World

Obama’s 2010 proposal is positive for chemistry overall, but the NIH and DOD figures pose difficulties

From nature, robots

14 years ago from Physorg

(PhysOrg.com) -- To a robot designer like Sangbae Kim, the animal kingdom is full of inspiration. "I always look at animals and ask why they are the way they are,"...

Great Tits Eat Bats In Times Of Need

14 years ago from Science Daily

Necessity is the mother of invention: Great Tits eat hibernating common pipistrelle bats under harsh conditions of snow cover. This remarkable newly-acquired behaviour was observed by researchers in a cave...

Certain Colors More Likely To Cause Epileptic Fits, Researchers Find

14 years ago from Science Daily

Researchers have discovered that epileptic brains are more ordered than non-epileptic ones and also that certain flicking colors seem more likely to cause fits.

Scientists scour Fundy for invasive tunicate

14 years ago from CBC: Technology & Science

Marine scientists are searching the waters around Campobello and Deer islands for an invasive species that could devastate the local environment if it migrates into Canada.

Carbon Nanotubes Shown to Boost Plant Growth, Could Spawn Super-Fertilizers

14 years ago from PopSci

Carbon nanotubes have improved existing technologies in fields ranging from electrical circuitry to architecture to materials science. So is it any surprise that when researchers in Arkansas applied the miraculous microscopic structures to...

Getting A Leg Up On Whale And Dolphin Evolution: New Comprehensive Analysis Sheds Light On The Origin Of Cetaceans

14 years ago from Science Daily

A comprehensive study that builds on previous phylogenetic research on cetaceans and that combines morphology, genetics, and behavior confirms that the closest living relative is the hippo and demonstrates that...

New test for heavy metal danger

14 years ago from Science Alert

Researchers have developed a world-first technique that detects whether heavy metals in soil are a threat to human health.

Scientists create tiny explorers

14 years ago from Science Alert

Australian researchers are developing tiny devices that will be able to cheaply and easily explore oceans, rivers and the human body.

Arachnophobes look away now - it's a bumper autumn for spiders

14 years ago from BBC News: Science & Nature

Conservationists say there could be more spiders and daddy long legs than usual this autumn because of favourable breeding conditions

Establishing healthy shrubs not the water-consuming task many think, research shows

14 years ago from Physorg

(PhysOrg.com) -- Good news for your utility bills and the environment: New University of Florida research shows that landscape shrubs need much less water to establish healthy roots than you...

A Connection Between Sleep and Alzheimer's?

14 years ago from Science NOW

Sleep deprivation enhances pathological plaque formation in the brains of mice [Read more]

Does Evolutionary Biology Make Predictions?

14 years ago from

A commenter on a previous post seems to have objected to the claim that evolutionary science makes predictions. gimme 5 examples of predictions, i mean real predictions: not fit the model...

NEW SPECIES PICTURE: "Misunderstood" Gecko Discovered

14 years ago from National Geographic

Some lizards get no respect. Even after finally being recognized by science, a new gecko species' middle name is still "misunderstood."

Gulf fritillary is back

14 years ago from Physorg

(PhysOrg.com) -- A showy butterfly with bright orange-red wings and a 4-inch wingspan is back in the Sacramento metropolitan area after a four-decade absence and in the Davis area after...

Golden Nanotubes Detect Tumor Cells, Map Sentinel Lymph Nodes

14 years ago from Physorg

(PhysOrg.com) -- Biomedical researchers at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock have developed a special contrast-imaging agent made...

Faking the Results (and Fixing the Damage Done)

14 years ago from PopSci

Scientists consider new ways to prevent and spot research misconduct In a series of studies designed to assess two anti-tissue-rejection drugs, former University of Alabama–Birmingham surgeons Judith Thomas and Juan Contreras carefully detailed experiments...

Reversibility Of Evolutionary Processes

14 years ago from

An article in LiveScience entitled "Evolution Can't Go Backward" has highlighted an experiment done to determine whether a protein could be "unmutated" (i.e. returned to its original state) and regain...