Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Robotic Bat: A Sneaky Spy
A palm-sized "robo-bat" with shape memory alloy is designed for surveillance.
Potato famine disease striking home gardens in U.S.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Late blight, which caused the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s and 1850s, is killing potato and tomato plants in home gardens from Maine to Ohio and...
Restrict calories, increase life span? Not so easy
Though low-calorie diets have been found to have anti-aging effects on animals, human studies are still in the early stage. The anti-aging effects of calorie restriction were first identified in the 1930s by...
One secret to how TB sticks with you
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is arguably the world's most successful infectious agent because it knows how to avoid elimination by slowing its own growth to a crawl. Now, a report in the...
Toward an explanation for Crohn's disease?
Twenty-five per cent of Crohn's disease patients have a mutation in what is called the NOD2 gene, but it is not precisely known how this mutation influences the disease. The...
Francis Collins To Direct NIH
President Obama picks former genome institute leader for top spot.
Stem Cells' 'Suspended' State Preserved By Key Step, Scientists Report
Scientists have identified a gene that is essential for embryonic stem cells to maintain their all-purpose, pluripotent state. Exploiting the finding may lead to a greater understanding of how cells...
Straighten Up And Fly Right: Moths Benefit More From Flexible Wings Than Rigid
New research using high-speed digital imaging shows that, at least for some insects, wings that flex and deform, something like what happens to a heavy beach towel when you snap...
Rhino poaching may reach 15-year high
GENEVA, Switzerland, July 9 (UPI) -- Three conservation groups say an increased demand for rhinoceros horns in Asia could soon lead to a 15-year high in rhino poaching...
Genes that change flowers' color are ID'd
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., July 9 (UPI) -- University of California-Santa Barbara scientists say they have identified the genes that are responsible for changing a flower's colors.
Sperm Prefer Attractive Females
The sperm of one male may have to compete with those from another. How and why they do it is surprising.
Desert dust alters plant ecology
FORT COLLINS, Colo., July 9 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say global warming might have a greater influence on some plants' annual growth cycles than previously thought.
Of Yeast And Men: Unraveling The Molecular Mechanisms Of Friedreich's Ataxia
Scientists have created an experimental model that produces large-scale expansion of GAA repeats during DNA replication, which is the cause of Friedreich's Ataxia. With this model, the researchers are able...
CAVEman 3-D Virtual Patient Is a Holodeck For the Human Body
A 3-D virtual patient that allows doctors to visualize and diagnose ailments in high-definition What happens when you pop a pill? Inside the University of Calgary's $1.5-million virtual-reality room, scientists can don...
Molecules Discovered With A Higher Selective Ability To Exterminate Cancer Cells
Researchers have obtained a new type of molecules which have proven -in in vitro cultivations- a high level of efficiency against cancer cells, as well as very low toxicity against...
Scientists hope tiny insect can help save soybeans
(AP) -- An insect no bigger than a comma is being studied as a natural predator that farmers could use instead of chemicals to protect the nation's soybean crop...
Brain Surgery Frees a Runner, but Also Raises New Barriers
A lobectomy cured ultra-runner Diane Van Deren’s epileptic seizures, but left her with an inability to remember exactly where she is going or how to get back.
3-D Protein Map To Aid Stroke And Cancer Research Drafted
Researchers have generated a computer map of the protein acid-sensing ion channel-1, or ASIC-1, an important neurological pathway. The map greatly simplifies the testing of drugs or compounds designed to...
Toxic Chemicals Affect Steroid Hormones Differently In Humans And Invertebrates
In a study with important consequences for studies on the effects of chemicals on steroid responses in humans, scientists have found that -- contrary to earlier assumptions -- enzymes used...
Better Than A Hearing Aid? Better Hearing With Bone Conducted Sound
New technology to hear vibrations through the skull bone has been developed. Besides investigating the function of a new implantable bone conduction hearing aid, researchers have studied the sensitivity for...
Drug helps monkeys, rabbits survive anthrax
CHICAGO (Reuters) - An experimental antibody treatment helped rabbits and monkeys survive a deadly dose of anthrax bacteria and proved safe in humans, too, researchers at Human Genome Sciences said...
From pythons to fungus, species invading US
(AP) -- A pet Burmese python broke out of a glass cage last week and killed a 2-year-old girl in her Florida bedroom. The tragedy became the latest and...
Rare blue lobster attracting visitors to Charlottetown shop
A rare blue lobster named Donald is attracting visitors to a store in Charlottetown.
Human genetics: One gene, twenty years
When the cystic fibrosis gene was found in 1989, therapy seemed around the corner. Two decades on, biologists still have a long way to go, finds Helen Pearson.
Mexico to boost young scientists in private companies
One hundred fellowships will be provided for young scientists to work in private companies.
Keeping harmful bacteria from progressing
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from the University of Wyoming and an institute in Germany have completed a project that, for the first time, has identified how sunlight changes activity of a...
Brain topography study may aid diagnoses
CHICAGO, July 8 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say they are mapping the dimensions of human brain structures to improve the diagnosis of mental disorders such as schizophrenia.
DNA gets nanotubes sorted out
Short DNA strings separate carbon nanotubes according to their structure