Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Chemists Rationally Design Inhibitors Against an RNA Molecule that Causes Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy
(PhysOrg.com) -- Chemists at the University at Buffalo have used rational drug design to synthesize small, cell-permeable molecules that are effective in vitro against two common types of myotonic muscular...
Scientists Paint Brain Tumors With Nanoparticles for More Precise Removal
Brain cancer is a classic double whammy: the extremely invasive form of cancer is both deadly and difficult to treat. Fortunately, there's a promising solution on the table: tumor painting. Because brain cancer...
Video: Tracking Sharks
Science and technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg joined researchers in a shark dive to tag and track the ocean predators.
Deadly malaria jumped to humans from wild chimps
An international research team led by evolutionary geneticist Stephen M. Rich of the University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered that the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which causes the deadliest form of...
Daily Temperature Shifts May Alter Malaria Patterns
Daytime temperature fluctuations greatly alter the incubation period of malaria parasites in mosquitoes, and alter transmission rates of the disease. Consideration of these fluctuations reveals a more accurate picture of...
Structure Of Antibiotic Ramoplanin Reveals Promising Mechanism
With the "last resort" antibiotic Vancomycin now plagued by the first signs of bacterial resistance, scientists have identified how a candidate successor antibiotic known as Ramoplanin A2 can kill pathogenic...
Scientists Create New Mouse Tooth From Stem Cells
Just the sound of a dentist's drill is enough to send most people into a panic. Add to that the awful inconvenience of walking around for a day with half your face...
'SIRT'ain security: The protein SIRT3 protects the heart
Sirtuin proteins have been shown to promote longevity in many organisms, and increased expression of one sirtuin protein, SIRT3, has been linked to increased human lifespan. New data, generated in...
Protecting cells from their neighbours
Almost all organisms evolve from a single cell, a fertilised egg. In the first hours after fertilisation, the fate of its future development is determined. It is dictated by the...
Restoring a natural root signal helps to fight a major corn pest
A longstanding and fruitful collaboration between researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology and the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland, together with contributions from colleagues in Munich and...
Unlocking the key to human fertility
Scientists at Leeds and Bradford have discovered a unique 'DNA signature' in human sperm, which may act as a key that unlocks an egg's fertility and triggers new life...
Chemists explain the switchboards in our cells
Our cells are controlled by billions of molecular 'switches' and chemists at UC Santa Barbara have developed a theory that explains how these molecules work. Their findings may significantly help...
Analysis: 2007 legal opinion is a threat to imperilled species
If the federal government implements a 2007 legal interpretation of the Endangered Species Act, the likely result will be a reduction in the number of species listed for protection, scientists...
Sick fish may get sicker
Entire populations of North American fish already are being affected by several emerging diseases, a problem that threatens to increase in the future with climate change and other stresses on...
Rootworms may resist herbicide, study says
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Volunteer corn -- unwanted plants from a previous year's harvest -- can provide a safe harbor for pests from insecticides, U.S. researchers...
Are Contaminants Silencing Our Genes?
Each of us starts life with a particular set of genes, 20,000 to 25,000 of them. Now scientists are amassing a growing body of evidence that pollutants and chemicals might be altering...
Researchers identify new method to selectively kill metastatic melanoma cells
RICHMOND, Va. (August 3, 2009) -- An international team of researchers has identified a new method for selectively killing metastatic melanoma cells, which may lead to new areas for...
New study confirms growing antimalarial resistance
A study looking at malaria parasites' response to artemisinin-based antimalarial drugs confirms growing resistance in western Cambodia.
World's Smallest Computers Made of DNA and Other Biological Molecules Made to 'Think' Logically
The world's smallest computers, made of DNA and other biological molecules, just got more "user friendly."
Computational chemistry predicts flu mutations
Researchers have used computational chemistry to try to predict which mutations could lead to dangerous new flu strains
Queen bees control with scent
Queen bees control the hive by releasing a pheromone that stops their offspring learning aversive behaviour, research has found.
Synthetic Biology: Opportunities And Risks
The new research field of synthetic biology will, in the medium term, open up a great deal of potential for combining novel genetic methods with engineering principles. This will facilitate...
Crocodile genome mapped
The world's first reptile genome has been mapped by a Sydney scientist, which could boost Australia's export industry.
'Feather-eating bugs' dull birds
Evidence is mounting that a birds are locked in an evolutionary battle with bacteria that eat their feathers.
The secrets of the cell
We trace the route from the discovery of cells by a Dutch textile merchant to the present day, where cells are engineered and built to order
New York's Ash Trees Threatened By Newly Found Beetle
For the first time, researchers have reported the sighting of the emerald ash borer -- an ash-destroying beetle -- in New York state.
Human Language And Dolphin Movement Patterns Show Similarities In Brevity
Two researchers have shown for the first time that the law of brevity in human language, according to which the most frequently-used words tend to be the shortest, also extends...
Threats To California's Cordell Bank Marine Sanctuary
A new report on the health of Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary indicates that the overall condition of the sanctuary's marine life and habitats is fair to good, but identifies...