Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Panda Pregnancy Test: Why Zoos Get Fooled
Why is there no good test to tell if a panda - or a lion for that matter - is pregnant? Experts at the Smithsonian's National Zoo explain.
Wheat variety thrives on saltier soils
Scientists have introduced salt tolerance genes into durum wheat, raising hopes for growers across the developing world.
Scientists learn to 'knock out' worm genes
SALT LAKE CITY, April 28 (UPI) -- Biologists at the University of Utah, which helped pioneered the deletion of genes in lab animals, have learned to "knock out" genes...
New computational method to uncover gene regulation
Scientists have developed a new computational model to uncover gene regulation, the key to how our body develops -- and how it can go wrong. The researchers say the new...
Lessons from the Brain: Toward an Intelligent Molecular Computer
A team of researchers from Japan and Michigan Technological University has built a massively parallel molecular computer using lessons learned from the human brain.
Gene silencing may be responsible for induced pluripotent stem cells' limitations
Scientists may be one step closer to being able to generate any type of cells and tissues from a patient's own cells. In a study that will appear in the...
Making its predators tremble: Multiple defenses act synergistically in aspen
If plants did not defend themselves in some way, they would certainly be gobbled up by a whole suite of voracious predators ranging from little insects to large mammalian herbivores....
Studying altered brain cells sheds light on epilepsy
Neuroscience researchers have zeroed in on a novel mechanism that helps control the firing of electrical signals among neurons. By isolating the molecular and electrical events that occur when this...
Targeting a microscopic pathogen lurking in water
The microscopic pathogen cryptosporidium lurks worldwide in water, contaminating swimming pools, water parks, and drinking water supplies. A top researcher has made a critical breakthrough in eroding cryptosporidium's defenses.
Scientists crack code of critical bacterial defense mechanism
Scientists have combined chemistry and biology research techniques to explain how certain bacteria grow structures on their surfaces that allow them to simultaneously cause illness and protect themselves from the...
New Scripps Research and GNF study helps explain how we can sense temperatures
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) have shed new light on the molecular mechanism that enables us to sense temperature,...
Project fruit fly: What accounts for insect taste?
A Johns Hopkins team has identified a protein in sensory cells on the 'tongues' of fruit flies that allows them to detect a noxious chemical and, ultimately, influences their decision...
Body builders - the worms that point the way to understanding tissue regeneration
Scientists at The University of Nottingham have discovered the gene that enables an extraordinary worm to regenerate its own body parts after amputation - including a whole head and brain...
Long-sought protein subunits of a key receptor of the central nervous system discovered
Researchers in Germany have discovered previously unknown subunits of the GABAB receptors in the central nervous system. GABAB receptors are transmembrane proteins in nerve cells which are of fundamental significance...
Scheme to save ancient orchards
Dozens of orchards have been created and cultivated in a bid to protect traditional fruit trees and wildlife habitat.
A Skeptic Questions Cancer Genome Projects
Fueled by hundreds of millions of grant dollars, biomedical researchers have begun sequencing the...
VisWall: High Resolution Display Wall
A giant video screen that takes up an entire wall, floor to ceiling, is allowing scientists to see details they've never seen before. The high definition clarity of the VisWall...
Nunavut buying fish research vessel
Fisheries officials in Nunavut hope a new government-owned vessel will help them better understand the territory's fish and other marine resources.
Return of top predators is key to ecological future
Sufficient advances have been made about the importance of top predators in ecosystem function that it's time to move from discussing the issue to acting upon it, a conservation biologist...
Thirty-Five-Million Dollar Boost for 'Barcode of Life'
The International Barcode of Life Project (iBOL), got a major boost from Canadian agencies...
Shipping industry sends help as project in Panama tackles amphibian crisis
As a disease known as amphibian chytrid fungus continues to wipe out amphibian species worldwide, frogs in Panama are finding a safe haven in a seemingly unlikely spot -between the...
Humans Have a Lot to Learn From Bonobos, Scientists Says
Primatologists Brain Hare thinks humans can learn a thing or two from banobos. One of his recent studies found these apes enjoy sharing, while chimps don't
Why The Primary Sequence Of Amino Acids In Any Polypeptide/Protein Is Fundamental To The Correct Functioning Of That Polypeptide/Protein
The primary structure of a protein also sometimes referred to as a polypeptide, is decided by sequences of amino acids. The amino acids are sequenced in a linear polypeptide chain...
In pictures: The week in wildlife
From lungless frogs to northern quolls, here is this week's pick of images from the natural world
Psychedelic trips aid anxiety treatments in study
(AP) -- The big white pill was brought to her in an earthenware chalice. She'd already held hands with her two therapists and expressed her wishes for what it would...
Whale poo could help oceans absorb CO2-scientists
By Pauline Askin Travel - Specialty Travel - Recreation - Ecotourism - Dolphins Manatees and Whales
Nanoparticles Provide a Targeted Version of Photothermal Therapy for Cancer
(PhysOrg.com) -- Using easily prepared gold nanocages that are able to escape from the blood stream and accumulate in tumors, a team of investigators from the Washington University in St....
African business takes on malaria
JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- An African bank, communications giant and popular chicken restaurant chain are taking on malaria, saying their business expertise might be the missing weapon...