Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Migrating monarch butterflies 'nose' their way to Mexico
The annual migration of monarch butterflies from across eastern North America to a specific grove of fir trees in Mexico has long fascinated scientists who have sought to understand just...
There's only one giant panda
In our online poll, an overwhelming 78.8% of you voted to continue conservation efforts to save the beleaguered panda
Lotus-plant-inspired dust-busting shield to protect space gear
A NASA team is developing a transparent coating that mimics the self-cleaning properties of the lotus plant to prevent dirt from sticking to the surfaces of spaceflight gear and bacteria...
Rising above the din
The brain never sits idle. Whether we are awake or asleep, watch TV or close our eyes, waves of spontaneous nerve signals wash through our brains. Researchers at the Salk...
Research team finds first evolutionary branching for bilateral animals
When it comes to understanding a critical junction in animal evolution, some short, simple flatworms have been a real thorn in scientists' sides. Specialists have jousted over the proper taxonomic...
On-off iridescence in squid
Structural changes in skin cell proteins help some squid to control the iridescence of their skin
Tennessee foresters helping to return chestnuts to American forests
The American chestnut was a dominant species in eastern U.S.'s forests before a blight wiped it out in the early 1900s. Today it's being returned to the landscape thanks in...
Superoxides Harm Muscle Tissue And May Lead To Age-related Muscle Decline
A new article shows that about 3 percent of the air we breathe gets converted into harmful superoxides, which ultimately harm our muscles by leading to the creation of a...
Measuring the Quality of a Scientific Paper
"Good" is a notoriously difficult word to define. A pretty common and reasonably uncontroversial definition of a good paper, though, is one that has significantly advanced human knowledge. The question...
Study finds one-time herbicide use decreased native plants, may have increased invasive plants
(PhysOrg.com) -- Matt Rinella, faculty in Animal and Range Science at Montana State University and an ecologist at the Fort Keogh Agricultural Experiment Station in Miles City, recently published the...
New Pest-Resistant Habanero Joins Peck of ARS-Created Peppers
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new red-fruited habanero is the latest pepper with resistance to root-knot nematodes to be released by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists.
Blue whales disturbed by seismic surveys: scientists
Seismic surveys used for oil and gas prospecting on the sea floor are a disturbance for blue whales, the world's biggest animal and one of its rarest species, biologists reported...
UAB research team saves turtle species on the brink
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) researchers exploring strategies for conserving the Diamondback Terrapin along Alabama's Dauphin Island coastline are working to keep the once-celebrated turtle off the endangered species...
All tied up: Tethered protein provides long-sought answer
The tools of biochemistry have finally caught up with lactose repressor protein. Biologists from Rice University in Houston and the University of Florence in Italy this week published new results...
Frog fungus hammering biodiversity of communities
Sometimes to see something properly, you have to stand farther back. This is true of Chuck Close portraits where a patchwork of many small faces changes into one giant face...
In Profile: Scott Manalis
Two years ago, MIT professor Scott Manalis and members of his laboratory demonstrated what was by far the world's most precise scale for weighing individual cells. Though Manalis knew it...
Coyote + wolf = new breed of predator
New DNA evidence reveals that coyotes have bred with wolves in the the northeastern United States, turning mice-eating coyotes into much larger animals with a hunger for big prey, such...
A Flash Of Light Turns Graphene Into A Biosensor
After learning how DNA interacts with the novel nanomaterial graphene, researchers propose a DNA-graphene nanoscaffold be used as a biosensor to diagnose diseases, detect toxins in tainted food and detect...
Computer Model Shows Changes In Brain Mechanisms For Cocaine Addicts
Researchers are utilizing computational models to study how the brain's chemicals and synaptic mechanisms, or connections between neurons, react to cocaine addiction and what this could mean for future therapies.
Ancient And Bizarre Fish Discovered: New Species Of Ghostshark From California And Baja California
Scientists recently named a new species of chimaera, an ancient and bizarre group of fishes distantly related to sharks, from the coast of Southern California and Baja California, Mexico. The...
Zoo-raised Houston toads released
HOUSTON, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Texas wildlife officials have released 360 Houston toads born and raised in the Houston Zoo, hoping they can replenish the wild population.
DEFORMED FROG PICTURE: Sign of Parasites on the Rise?
California tadpoles are developing into frogs with missing legs and eyes—deformities possibly caused by an alien parasite that usually attacks farmed fish, experts say.
Weird New Ghostshark Found; Male Has Sex Organ on Head
Flying for years under the scientific radar, the new ghostshark species is among the world's oldest and—and oddest—fish.
Statewide study shows algae toxin a minor threat, say UF experts
(PhysOrg.com) -- A toxin produced by freshwater algae has garnered plenty of media coverage in recent years, but a new University of Florida study shows there`s little cause for concern...
Verizon Wireless and Motorola Introduce the Motorola Entice W766
Verizon Wireless and Motorola today announced the availability of the Motorola Entice W766.
New discovery reveals fate of nanoparticles in human cells
Scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have uncovered what happens to biomimetic nanoparticles when they enter human cells. They found that the important proteins that...
Transhumance helps vulture conservation
Researchers from the University of Segovia and the University of León have shown for the first time the close space-time relationship between the presence of the griffon vulture and transhumant...
Why Fall Colors Are Different in U.S. and Europe
Changes during ice ages might explain fall color differences between European and North American trees.