Latest science news in Biology & Nature
NEW SPECIES PICTURES: Giant Rat, Silky Cuscus Found
A "handsome" three-foot rodent is among the 40 potentially new species found on Mount Bosavi in central Papua New Guinea, one of the least explored places on Earth, conservationists say.
Chimps Trained To Enable Keepers To Take DNA Samples With Cheek Swabs
As the 25th anniversary of the discovery of DNA fingerprinting approaches, geneticists interested in a particular type of DNA are receiving some help from an unusual band of assistants. Chimpanzees...
How Manuka Honey Helps Fight Infection
Manuka honey may kill bacteria by destroying key bacterial proteins. Researchers investigated the mechanisms of manuka honey action and found that its anti-bacterial properties were not due solely to the...
Turning Bacteria Into Protein Production Factories
By adapting a single protein on the surface of the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus, researchers have turned it into a protein production factory, making useful proteins that can act as vaccines...
Novel Bacterial Strains Clear Algal Toxins From Drinking Water
Researchers have identified novel bacterial strains capable of neutralizing toxins produced by blue-green algae.
Study: Fish farm boom strains wild stock
Aquaculture now accounts for 50 percent of the fish consumed globally, a fact that's putting tremendous strain on wild fish, a study found.
Arctic oil: A boon for nest predators
A new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other groups reveals how oil development in the Arctic is impacting some bird populations by providing...
Using Insects To Test For Drug Safety
Insects, such as some moths and fruit flies, react to microbial infection in the same way as mammals and so can be used to test the efficiency of new drugs,...
Liposuction Fat Turned Into Stem Cells, Study Says
Using "leftovers" from liposuction patients, scientists have turned human fat into stem cells, a new study says—an efficient and apparently uncontroversial new method.
Building Better Bone Replacements With Bacteria
Bacteria that manufacture hydroxyapatite could be used to make stronger, more durable bone implants. Using Serratia bacteria, researchers show that the bacterial cells stuck tightly to surfaces such as titanium...
Endangered Sumatran rhino dies in zoo
An endangered Sumatran rhino has died at the Cincinnati Zoo, a setback to a program that successfully produced the first calves born in captivity in more than a century.
New genomic model defines microbes by diet - provides tool for tracking environmental change
In line with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) interest in characterising the biotic factors involved in global carbon cycling, the DOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI) characterises a diverse array...
Using microbes for the quick clean up of dirty oil
Microbiologists from the University of Essex, UK have used microbes to break down and remove toxic compounds from crude oil and tar sands. These acidic compounds persist in the environment,...
Small molecule inhibits pathology associated with myotonic dystrophy type 1
Researchers at the University of Illinois have designed a small molecule that blocks an aberrant pathway associated with myotonic dystrophy type 1, the most common form of muscular dystrophy...
Genes reveal bacteria’s home
A recent study was able to tell what kind of environment bacteria lived in by sampling a few genes, due to their different life strategies.
Study of huge numbers of genetic mutations point to oxidative stress as underlying cause
A study that tracked genetic mutations through the human equivalent of about 5,000 years has demonstrated for the first time that oxidative DNA damage is a primary cause of the...
How 'fussy food' holds key to bumblebees' survival
Details of how scientists plan to bring a previously extinct bumblebee back to the UK have been revealed.
World Briefing | Asia: Myanmar: Rare Turtle Rediscovered
The Arakan forest turtle, once though to be extinct, has been rediscovered in a remote forest in Myanmar, researchers said Monday.
Video: Declining Bat Population
The U.S. bat population is declining at a frightening rate due to a fungus called white nose syndrome. As Daniel Sieberg reports, researchers are struggling to solve this devastating mystery.
Scientists pinpoint critical molecule to celiac disease, possibly other autoimmune disorders
It was nine years ago that University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers discovered that a mysterious human protein called zonulin played a critical role in celiac disease and other...
Narrow-band Imaging Increases Specificity Of Early Lung Cancer Detection
Researchers have found that narrow-band imaging bronchoscopy increases the specificity of bronchoscopic early lung cancer detection and can serve as an alternative detection device.
Nobelist's brain institute wins reprieve
Court prevents host from pulling the plug on cash-strapped Italian research lab.
Boron-based compounds trick a biomedical protein
(PhysOrg.com) -- Chemists and biologists have successfully demonstrated that specially synthesized boron compounds are readily accepted in biologically active enzymes, a move that, they say, is a proof of concept...
Why being big like an elephant puts a spring in your step
(PhysOrg.com) -- Large, lumbering animals such as elephants move much more efficiently than small, agile ones such as mice, University of Manchester scientists have shown.
Star-shaped cells in the brain aid with learning
(PhysOrg.com) -- Every movement and every thought requires the passing of specific information between networks of nerve cells. To improve a skill or to learn something new entails more efficient...
Seaweed suspected in French death
Police investigate whether a lorry driver who died in July is the first victim of toxic seaweed clogging the Brittany coast.
Three genes linked to Alzheimer’s disease risk
Genome studies highlight gene variants that may give new directions to studies of the neurodegenerative disorder
Feature: Can a parrot get justice under a Regional Forest Agreement?
A case to save the habitat of the Tasmanian swift parrot has highlighted the shortcomings of laws for protecting endangered species in Australia.