Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Embryonic pre-beating heart is imaged
HOUSTON, April 5 (UPI) -- A U.S. team of scientists says it has, for the first time, captured video of the embryonic heart even before it begins beating.
Brain development: Floor plate tissue derived from embryonic stem cells
Researchers have used human embryonic stem cells to derive floor plate tissue, an important signaling center during brain development. This is the first study shown to derive floor plate tissue...
New technology enables machines to detect microscopic pathogens in water
Detecting one of the world's most common pathogens in drinking water soon may no longer be bottle-necked under a laboratory microscope.
Peach genome completed
CLEMSON, S.C., April 2 (UPI) -- The DNA genome of a peach could identify growth traits for its cousins -- apples, roses, strawberries, pears and cherries, scientists in South...
DAF-16: Aging Gene Governs Lifespan In Humans?
University of Birmingham scientists have discovered that the gene DAF-16 plays an important part in determining the rate of aging and average lifespan of the laboratory worm Caenorhabditis elegans (C....
Bees with an impaired insulin partner gene prefer proteins over carbs
A new study of food-choice behaviour in honey bees, published April 1 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, has identified a gene involved in bees' decisions to bring protein or...
Longer-Lasting Flowers: Fresh Ideas from ARS Researchers
Tomorrow's fragrant bouquets and colorful potted plants might last longer, thanks to ARS floriculture research.
MSU scientists find bacterium can halt dengue virus transmission
Dengue fever - caused by a virus transmitted by mosquitoes - threatens 2.5 billion people each year and there is no vaccine or treatment. New research by Michigan State University...
Researchers discover weak link in Alzheimer's drug candidates
Some current therapies being investigated for Alzheimer's disease may cause further neural degeneration and cell death, according to a breakthrough discovery by UC San Diego researchers. By combining three dimensional...
Readers Respond on "Expanding the Limits of Life"
Lost Nucleotides Although Alexander S. Bradley’s article “ Expanding the Limits of Life ” provides a fascinating account of the discovery of microbes in a previously unknown kind of hydrothermal...
Electronic medical records may accelerate genome-driven diagnoses and treatments
A new study reveals an exciting potential benefit of the rapidly accumulating databases of health care information, the ability to make unprecedented links between genomic data and clinical medicine. The...
Tensions remain over biological access protocol
A draft protocol text on the use of genetic resources has been agreed, but critics are far from happy.
Wandering albatross: Is foraging efficiency a key parameter in aging?
The male wandering albatross, which can live more than 50 years, modifies its foraging behavior with age. Researchers in France have, for the first time, shown such changes by studying...
Drug that extends life span prevents Alzheimer's deficits
A new report provides more evidence that rapamycin, which has been shown to extend life span in mice, also can improve learning and memory in mice engineered to develop Alzheimer's...
Further facts from the songbird genome
With the sequencing of the zebra finch genome, a new resource has been made available to biologists of many disciplines. A thematic series published by BioMed Central, the open access...
Joining Forces to Unveil Cell Division
The EU-funded project MitoCheck, which started in 2004, has now been successfully rounded off. Eleven European research teams and companies, coordinated by the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in...
Space station experiment will probe failure of immune system in space
(PhysOrg.com) -- In April 2010, personnel aboard the International Space Station plan to carry out an experiment designed by a San Francisco VA Medical Center researcher that will investigate why...
Genetic form of anemia defined molecularly
Sideroblastic anemia is a form of anemia caused by an inability to incorporate iron into hemoglobin, something that is essential if the molecule is to perform its vital function of...
Rural ants get supersized when urbanized
The odorous house ant may have evolved for life in some of the tightest spots in the forest, but once it moves into our comparatively roomy buildings and cities, its...
Europe's wild wonders
Europe is home to some amazing natural sights, as shown by these images from Wild Wonders of Europe, a two-year-long project involving more than 60 top wildlife photographers
Tissue engineering, imaging neuronal circuits featured in Cold Spring Harbor Protocols
COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. (Thurs., April 1, 2010) -- The goal of tissue engineering is to recapitulate healthy human organs and tissue structures in culture, and then transplant them...
Motorola Introduces H17txt -- New Text-To-Speech Bluetooth Headset
Motorola today announced H17txt with MotoSpeak, a Bluetooth headset designed to keep you connected and responsible - on and off the road.
Power of plants harnessed to fight hemophilia
Researchers have devised a way that potentially could help patients develop tolerance to the therapeutic protein needed to treat hemophilia. They genetically modified plants to encapsulate the tolerance-inducing protein within...
Molecular prosthesis against gout
Researchers from the ETH Zurich's Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE) have devised a new method for preventing and permanently eradicating the cause of gout. It involves implanting a...
Two acoustic marine systems developed
WOODS HOLE, Mass., April 1 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've developed broadband acoustic systems that could revolutionize oceanography as color television revolutionized analogue TV.
Diverse wheat tapped for antifungal genes
Asian wheat may offer novel genes for shoring up the defenses of U.S. varieties against Fusarium graminearum fungi that cause Fusarium head blight (FHB) disease.
Punk Penguins Protected
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced an agreement to create a new marine protected area in Argentina that will safeguard one of the country's most unique seascapes for both people...
Injunction sought against egg roll company
WASHINGTON, April 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it is seeking a permanent injunction against a Houston egg roll manufacturer due to a food safety...