Latest science news in Biology & Nature
E. Coli Learns to Solve Complex Equations
E. coli can do a lot more than wreak havoc within your digestive system. Scientists have made strides over the years turning the little microbe species into computational workhorses. Now a team of...
Human-dog Communication: Breed As Important As Species
Dog breeds selected to work in visual contact with humans, such as sheep dogs and gun dogs, are better able to comprehend a pointing gesture than those breeds that usually...
Human Cells Secrete Cancer-killing Protein
The tumor-suppressor protein Par-4 is secreted by human and rodent cells and activates a novel extrinsic pathway involving cell surface GRP78 receptor for induction of apoptosis, researchers have found.
Scientists closer to making implantable bone material
Scientists are closer to understanding how to grow replacement bones with stem cell technology, thanks to research published today in the journal Nature Materials. Many scientists are currently trying to...
Oprah, Luke Skywalker And Maradona: New Study Investigates How Our Brains Respond To Them
New research reveals how visual and auditory information converges into the firing of single neurons.
Toucan's bill keeps things cool, study says
Researchers believe the beak can regulate body temperature. ...
Synchronised swimming of algae
Using high-speed cinematography, scientists at Cambridge University have discovered that individual algal cells can regulate the beating of their flagella in and out of synchrony in a manner that controls...
Animals survive by changing looks
OXFORD, England, July 24 (UPI) -- Animals of the same species who look different from each other may have evolved that way to deter predators, British scientists said.
Songbirds' elaborate cries for food show first signs of vocal learning
(PhysOrg.com) -- Only a handful of social animals -- songbirds, some marine mammals, some bats and humans -- learn to actively style their vocal communications. Babies, for instance, start by...
Scientists Create Mice from Reprogrammed Skin Cells
Chinese research bypasses the need for controversial embryonic stem cells Chinese scientists have created live mice from mature skin cells that had reverted to an embryonic-like state. The scientific success could further defuse...
Sticky Protein Helps Reinforce Fragile Muscle Membranes
A new study shows why muscle membranes don't rupture when healthy people exercise. The findings shed light on a mechanism that appears to protect cells from mechanical stress. The study...
Green beetle's super-shiny secret
Iridescent beetle's exoskeleton has almost exactly the same structure as hi-tech liquid crystal, say scientists.
Bcl6 gene sculpts helper T cell to boost antibody production
Expression of a single gene programs an immune system helper T cell that fuels rapid growth and diversification of antibodies in a cellular structure implicated in autoimmune diseases and development...
Scientists discover gene mutation responsible for hereditary neuroendocrine tumour
University of Utah researchers and their colleagues have identified the gene that is mutated in a hereditary form of a rare neuroendocrine tumour called paraganglioma (PGL). The gene, called hSDH5,...
Ralph F. Hirschmann dies at 87; pioneering chemist
The scientist was among the first to synthesize an enzyme in a laboratory. He also led a team that developed key drugs for Merck. Ralph F. Hirschmann, the leader of one of two...
Breakthrough In Transgenic Animal Production Enables Development Of New Human Disease Models
Scientists have announced the creation of the first genetically modified mammals developed using zinc finger nuclease technology.
Reprogrammed Mouse Fibroblasts Can Make A Whole Mouse
Scientists report an important advance in the characterization of reprogrammed induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs. Researchers used established methods to reprogram mouse cells to isolate five new iPSC lines,...
Parasites keep things sexy in 'hotspots'
Evolutionarily speaking, parasites make sex a worthwhile thing to do, according to a study published online on July 23rd in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. The researchers report that...
Toucan’s bill gives big chill
Thermal imaging study reveals new function for bird’s distinctive front end
The Wiener Gene: Stumpy Dogs Share Single Ancestor
The short legs of the dachshund, the basset hound, and other diminutive dog breeds have been linked to a single mutation that could be linked to a form of human dwarfism.
Do Chicago`s suburbs hold the key to understanding West Nile virus?
(PhysOrg.com) -- When Tony Goldberg is not whacking through the brush of central Africa, one of the world's great cauldrons of emerging human and animal disease, he is scouring another...
'Menacing' squids really quite timid
KINGSTON, R.I., July 23 (UPI) -- Reports about swimmers menaced by giant squids off San Diego raised the ire of marine biologist Brad Seibel who found the awesome "monsters"...
Monitoring Cancer Cell Changes With Quantum Dots
One of the earliest events that changes a normal cell into a malignant one is known as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) hypermethylation, a biochemical alteration that inactivates critical tumor-suppressor genes. A...
When the going gets noisy, some birds get going; others thrive
Many birds really can't stand a racket. But when the going gets noisy, a few species of birds actually thrive, according to a new report published online on 23rd July...
Nanotube growth caught on camera
Scientists provide proof that nanotubes rotate as they grow
Could Extinct Animals Be Resurrected from Frozen Samples?
Extinct animals could be cloned from DNA found in frozen tissue samples and maybe the reconstructed genomes of ancient species.
Safer hair dyes and cosmetics to be made from Shetland seaweed
Scientists have launched a project to make hair dye out of seaweed from around the Shetland Islands.
3-D Scaffold Of Living, Beating Heart Cells May Lead To Viable Strategies Of Transplanting Cells Into Diseased Hearts
Researchers have created a new 3-D scaffold of living, beating heart cells -- a promising step forward on the quest for viable strategies of transplanting cells into diseased hearts.