Latest science news in Biology & Nature
'Death stench' is universal warning signal
HAMILTON, Ontario, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Canadian scientists say they've discovered the smell of recent death that repels living relatives of insects is an ancient universal warning signal.
RNA interference found in budding yeasts
FINDINGS: Some budding yeast species have the ability to silence genes using RNA interference (RNAi). Until now, most researchers thought that no budding yeasts possess the RNAi pathway because Saccharomyces...
Mice Levitated for Space Research
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have managed to levitate young mice in research carried out for NASA. Levitated mice may help research on bone density loss during long exposures to low gravity,...
Observatory: The Gecko’s Tail Has a Life of Its Own
When a gecko is threatened and self-amputates its tail, the tail doesn’t just sit there: it can make movements for up to half an hour.
Great Tit Turns Out to be a Killer
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Great Tit is an aggressive songbird found in Britain, continental Europe, parts of Northern Africa, and much of Asia. It is believed to survive mostly on seeds,...
Getting plants to rid themselves of pesticide residues
Scientists in China are reporting the "intriguing" discovery that a natural plant hormone, applied to crops, can help plants eliminate residues of certain pesticides. The study is scheduled for the...
New research confirms potential deadly nature of emerging new monkey malaria species in humans
Researchers in Malaysia have identified key laboratory and clinical features of an emerging new form of malaria infection. The research, funded by the Wellcome Trust, confirms the potentially deadly nature...
High fruit and vegetable intake positively correlated with antioxidant status, cognitive performance
Researchers at the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I of the Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany, investigated the relationship between fruit and vegetable intake, plasma antioxidant micronutrient status and cognitive...
River flow and temperature limit trout numbers
Over a 23-year study, Javier Lobón-Cerviá has found the mechanism that controls the number of salmonids found each year in Cantabrian rivers. His method has been to monitor population numbers...
Scientists Use MicroRNAs To Track Evolutionary History For First Time
Scientists have used microRNA data to investigate the evolutionary relationships of annelids, which include earthworms, leeches and bristle worms, to show that this large animal group evolved as a single,...
Euthanized Animals Shouldn't be Fed to Addison's Dogs
One reason not to feed Addison's dogs commercial pet food: it contains euthanized animals. That's according to the FDA, who found samples of dog food contained pentobarbital, a drug...
Engineered human fusion protein inhibits HIV-1 replication
In 2004, Jeremy Luban and colleagues from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, reported that New World owl monkeys (Aotus genus) make a fusion protein - AoT5Cyp - that potently blocks...
Mobile DNA studied in British chimpanzees
LEICESTER, England, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- British scientists say they are using chimpanzees to study so-called mobile DNA that is found in the genomes of humans and other primates.
Disease-causing Escherichia coli: 'I will survive'
Strains of Escherichia coli bacteria that cause food poisoning have been shown to have marked differences in the numbers of genes they carry compared to laboratory strains of E. coli....
Study reveals new role of vitamin C in skin protection
Researchers at the University of Leicester and Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology in Portugal studied new protective properties of vitamin C in cells from the human skin, which could...
Tackling graffiti
Developers hope for renewed support for new polymer-based anti-graffiti coating that lets buildings ‘breathe’
Hybrid nano material targets antibiotic resistant bacteria
Researchers develop a light activated nano material that can target, label and kill antibiotic resistant bacteria such as E. coli
Great tits found hunting bats for food
In British gardens they are welcome visitors, stopping off to sing and snack on the caterpillars. But in a remote cave in Hungary they are exhibiting some unusual behaviour. There, great tits...
Climate complexities stoke disease controversies
Modelling how climate change might affect insect-borne disease is hugely complex — and increasingly controversial, explains Justine Davies.
Researchers aim to simplify a compound that acts on alpha-tubulin to slow down the process of cell division associated w
Research is being carried out to design and synthesise a new generation of compounds that act on the tubulin molecule, involved in cell multiplication, through a mechanism that has not...
Yawning toons make an ape gape
Computer animations of yawning chimpanzees provoke the same irresistible grins in real chimps, according to an unusual study released Wednesday.
Liposuction leftovers make easy stem cells: study
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fat sucked out of chunky thighs or flabby bellies might provide an easy source of stem cells made using new and promising technology, U.S. researchers reported on...
Rats With Part of Brain Deactivated Move Toward Food But Do Not Eat
Using an animal model of binge eating, researchers discovered that deactivating the basolateral amygdala, a brain region involved in regulating emotion, specifically blocked consumption of a fatty diet. Surprisingly, it...
Spare Gene Is Fodder For Fishes' Evolution
Scientists have suspected that spare parts in the genome -- extra copies of functional genes that arise when genes or whole genomes get duplicated -- might sometimes provide the raw...
Larger Seasonal Speed Zones Could Save Whales
(PhysOrg.com) -- Larger areas of speed limits for ships around major ports could significantly help North Atlantic right whales' survival, according to a new study led by Duke University scientists.
Protein found as link to heart evolution
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've found a specific protein helped the 3-chambered heart of amphibians evolve into the 4-chambered heart of birds and mammals.
Freckles and Flab Make Better Stem Cells Than Skin
In a development sure to give Eric Cartman some conflicted feelings, a pair of studies have found that cells taken from freckles or fat cells produce stem cells faster, and with a...
Researchers Wage Communication Warfare on Bacteria
When a strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria begins an assault on the human body, doctors usually have few tools to fall back on, save more antibiotics and crossed fingers. But a group of researchers...