Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Scientists discover how to send insects off the scent of crops
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)-funded research, published this week in Chemical Communications, describes how scientists have discovered molecules that could confuse insects' ability to detect plants by interfering...
How mitochondrial gene defects impair respiration, other major life functions
Researchers are delving into abnormal gene function in mitochondria, structures within cells that power our lives. Mitochondria are the place where energy is generated from the most basic molecules of...
Fish Fend Off Invading Germs With An Initial Response Similar To One Found In Humans
A new study demonstrates that the same proteins produced by humans early during infection are also made by fish early after exposure to harmful germs. These proteins activate the fish...
Merkel Cell Polyomavirus Associated With Rare Skin Cancer, Merkel Cell Carcinoma
The Merkel cell polyomavirus is the only human polyomavirus known to be associated with a rare skin cancer, known as Merkel cell carcinoma, according to a new study.
Enzyme is key to clogged arteries
Scientists at Queen Mary, University of London have made an important discovery in understanding what causes arteries to clog up...
Mind Reading Gets A Step Closer Using Functional Imaging
Patterns of brain activity allow researchers to know what number a person has just seen or how many dots a person has been presented with, according to a report published...
Scientists and healers team up to test AIDS remedy
South African researchers are probing the AIDS-fighting potential of local plants, signalling a new alliance with healers.
Molecule might block the spread of cancer
NEW HAVEN, Conn., Sept. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. and Chinese scientists say a piece of genetic material with no previously known function might hold the key to being able...
Shedding light on cancer cells
Scientists label cells with coloured or glowing chemicals to observe how basic cellular activities differ between healthy and cancerous cells. Existing techniques for labelling cells are either too slow or...
A Change for the better: Improving properties of enzymes
An international team of scientists from the Czech Republic, Germany and Japan have developed a new method for improving the properties of enzymes. The method has potential for wide application...
Cockroaches Control Their Breathing to Save Water
(PhysOrg.com) -- Many insects have been known for decades to hold their breath when resting, but the reasons have not been well understood. A new study on cockroaches suggests the...
Mount Sinai leads unprecedented attempt to discover rules for assembling human tissue
Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and two other academic institutions have received federal funding to systematically assemble functional human kidney tissue from tissue modeled on a computer. If...
Ratchet-like genetic mutations make evolution irreversible
A University of Oregon research team has found that evolution can never go backwards, because the paths to the genes once present in our ancestors are forever blocked. The findings...
Safe havens for rarest primates
Two of the world's rarest species of primate are to be helped by new nature reserves created in Vietnam and China.
Flying Turkmen leopards to bring species back to Caucasus
Two leopards from Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan are recovering after a long flight and car ride to their new homes in a Russian national park, as part of efforts to reintroduce the...
Direct route to RNA sequences
New technique allows single molecules of RNA to be sequenced directly without the multiple manipulations currently needed
Fitness: Back to Basics: Yes, Sergeant!
The use of low-tech equipment has resurfaced in recent years in a shift toward so-called functional fitness.
MRI, solar cells, aging work lead Nobel predictions
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists who discovered the secrets of how cells age, who made efficient solar cells possible and whose work led to real-time imaging of the brain are all...
Genetic Discovery Could Accelerate Grapevine Breeding - And Bring Back European Vines From 150 Years Ago
European-tasting wines from American species and cultivars? It could happen, say German researchers who have unraveled an unexpected twist in grapevine DNA. read more
Magnetic Nanoworms and Nanocrystals Deliver siRNA to Tumors
(PhysOrg.com) -- Small pieces of nucleic acid known as short interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, can turn off the production of specific proteins, a property that makes them one of the...
Human damage 'needs limits'
Humanity needs to control the damage it is doing to the planet now, in order to avoid threats to human well-being, warn experts.
With an Eye on Locusts and Vegetation, Scientists Make a Good Tool Better
(PhysOrg.com) -- Locusts, the grasshopper-like insects of Biblical lore, are normally docile creatures that prefer solitary lives in the desert, away from other members of their species. But sometimes, when...
Evolution can’t be reversed, research suggests
In a kind of evolutionary bridge-burning, once a gene has morphed into its current state, the road back gets blocked, new research suggests. So there's no easy way to turn...
Huge Cold Spot in Early Universe Not so Cold After All?
Quelling theories of a mysterious supervoid or even an "imprint" of a parallel universe, a new study says the cold region is a completely unspecial fluke of statistics.
Shark has out-of-water operation to find hook
An operation is performed on a shark at a Dorset sealife centre - in what is thought to be the first such procedure out of water.
Consults: Alternative Therapies for Fibromyalgia
Dr. Brent A. Bauer answers readers questions on complementary and alternative therapies for fibromyalgia.
Review: Rubik's TouchCube a little too touchy
(AP) -- Thirty years ago Erno Rubik took a puzzle he had been tinkering with and turned it into the must-have brain twister toy, the Rubik's Cube.
Rare Indian lotus 'disappearing'
Conservation efforts to save India's last surviving examples of a water-lily must be stepped up, a leading botanist says.