Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Research shows that animals need time to survive
To understand how climate change may affect species survival, we need to understand how climate influences their time-keeping.
Mammals Beat Reptiles in Battle of Evolution
Study finds mammals, birds, fish are evolution's winners; crocodiles, alligators are losers.
MIT team targets ovarian cancer with nanoparticles
Tiny particles carrying a killer gene can effectively suppress ovarian tumour growth in mice, according to a team of researchers from MIT and the Lankenau Institute...
BALD BIRD PICTURE: New Songbird Sports Wispy "Mohawk"
Despite the slight mohawk, the bare-faced bulbul is the first known bald songbird in mainland Asia, conservationists say.
Walking bats gain advantage
Researchers have found fossil evidence that some bat species evolved walking to help forage – not due to lack of ground predators.
Scientists to unlock Great Barrier Reef genome
Australian scientists on Thursday announced a ground-breaking genome-mapping project that could help the Great Barrier Reef fight off the twin threats of climate change and toxic farm chemicals.
Instant insight: Holography speaks volumes
Søren Hvilsted and colleagues explain how holograms could be the key to storing increasing amounts of information
Important Insight Into Apoptosis Or Programmed Cell Death
Researchers have gained a better understanding of the process that cells go through when they die. This process known as "apoptosis" or programmed cell death, is a normal process in...
Study Catches Two Bird Populations As They Split Into Separate Species
A new study finds that a change in a single gene has sent two closely related bird populations on their way to becoming two distinct species. The study is one...
Synchronized Swimming Of Algae
Using high-speed cinematography, scientists have discovered that individual algal cells can regulate the beating of their flagella in and out of synchrony in a manner that controls their swimming trajectories.
Adult Brain Can Change Within Seconds
The human brain can adapt to changing demands even in adulthood, but neuroscientists have now found evidence of it changing with unsuspected speed. Their findings suggest that the brain has...
'Good fat' may help people lose weight
BOSTON, July 29 (UPI) -- U.S. biologists made a kind of energy-burning fat cell called "brown fat" out of mouse and human cells that may help people lose weight,...
GIANT JELLYFISH PICTURES: Japan's Nomura Invasion
Jellyfish that can grow up to 6.5 feet wide and weigh 440 pounds are poised to invade Japan. They are Nomura's jellyfish, and scientists and fishers who recall the last major inundation...
Calif. marsh returns to life after century
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., July 29 (UPI) -- Native plant life is growing in a wetland reclamation near Los Angeles that organizers say they hope will also attract invertebrates, rare...
Researchers link jellyfish, other small sea creatures to large-scale ocean mixing
The ocean's smallest swimming animals, such as jellyfish, can have a huge impact on large-scale ocean mixing, researchers have discovered.
Protein 'Tweek' rare but critical in synaptic process
Recycling is a critical component in the process of transmitting information from one neuron to the next, and a large protein called Tweek plays a critical role, said an international...
Reprogramming human cells without inserting genes
A research team comprised of faculty at Worcester Polytechnic Institute's (WPI) Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center (LSBC) and investigators at CellThera, a private company also located at the LSBC, has...
Little Creatures Can Stir Big Oceans
The motions of jellyfish and other swimmers act like a blender in the sea
Little-known protein found to be key player
Italian and U.S. biologists this week report that a little-understood protein previously implicated in a rare genetic disorder plays an unexpected and critical role in building and maintaining healthy cells....
San Diego Zoo says giant panda Bai Yun is pregnant
San Diego Zoo officials say their prized giant panda is pregnant again. Seventeen-year-old Bai Yun already is a mother of four.
New computer simulation helps explain folding in important cellular protein
Most parts of living organisms come packaged with ribbons. The ribbons are proteins - chains of amino acids that must fold into three-dimensional structures to work properly. But when for...
Scientists obtain real time snapshot of the learning process
To learn from experience, it is essential to know whether a past action was associated with a desired outcome. Now, scientists have demonstrated how this information can be coded by...
Nanotubes May Reach A Meter Long With New Technique
Scientists have developed a method for making "odako," bundles of single-walled carbon nanotubes named for the traditional Japanese kites they resemble. It may lead to a way to produce meter-long...
If a Mosquito Bites Me after I’ve Had a Beer, Can It Get Drunk?
Shockingly, no major studies have been conducted on this topic. “The implications are, however, profound,” says Michael Raupp, an entomologist at the University of Maryland. “Reckless flying, passing out in frosty beer mugs,...
'Artificial Golgi' may provide new insight into key cell structure
Scientists in New York and North Carolina are reporting assembly of the first functioning prototype of an artificial Golgi organelle. That key structure inside cells helps process and package hormones,...
Toxic pollen, nectar could sting bees
Selenium, a potent toxin, is showing up in alarming concentrations in the pollen and nectar of two plants common in California's Central Valley, according to a new study.
Stem cell research: From molecular physiology to therapeutic applications
Stem cell research promises remedies to many devastating diseases that are currently incurable, ranging from diabetes and Parkinson's disease to paralysis. Totipotent embryonic stem cells have great potential for generating...
Love Songs of Bowhead Whales: Whales Sings With 'More Than One Voice'
It is now generally accepted that the bowhead whale is the longest lived mammal on the planet, with a lifespan of over 200 years. But that it can sing with...