Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Dormant microbes promote diversity, serve environment
The ability of microbes, tiny organisms that do big jobs in our environment, to go dormant not only can save them from death and possible extinction but may also play...
Octopuses prefer HDTV
Octopuses rely on visual cues to identify predators, prey and other marine creatures. Yet it has been difficult for researchers to study the animals' reactions to their natural environments, because...
Rare lady beetles prefer traditional diet
Experts watched helplessly as a colony of rare, captive lady beetles was lost in 2008, then teetered on the edge of disaster again in 2009.
Whale sedation aids conservation
Marine biologists look for better ways to save whales tangled in fishing gear.
Mussels - material artists with grip
We may like to eat mussels steamed in white wine, but we also like to find mussels at the beach. Mostly they are burrowed into the ground or tethered to...
Mother knows best - even before birth
Mother birds communicate with their developing chicks before they even hatch by leaving them messages in the egg, new research by a team from the Department of Zoology, University of...
Scientists solve puzzle of chickens that are half male and half female
A puzzle that has baffled scientists for centuries - why some birds appear to be male on one side of the body and female on the other - has been...
Scientists find community involvement, not only enforcement, drives success of marine reserves
In one of the most comprehensive global studies of marine reserves, a team of natural and social scientists from the University of Rhode Island and other institutions has found that...
Scientific breakthrough in genetic studies of animal domestication
The domestication of animals and plants is the most important technological innovation during human history. This genetic transformation of wild species has occurred as humans have used individuals carrying favourable...
CSHL-Mexican team coaxes sexually reproducing plant to brink of asexual reproduction
One seemingly insurmountable obstacle to the dream of virtually limitless yields of staple crops like corn, wheat and rice is the dependence of those plants on sexual reproduction. When male...
Genetically engineered tobacco plant cleans up environmental toxin
Tobacco might become as well known for keeping us healthy as it is for causing illness thanks to researchers from the U.K. In a new research report appearing in the...
Sonic hedgehog gene found in an unexpected place during limb development
Sonic hedgehog, a gene that plays a crucial rule in the positioning and growth of limbs, fingers and toes, has been confirmed in an unexpected place in the embryos of...
Scientists identify age-associated defects in schizophrenia
The underlying causes of the debilitating psychiatric disorder schizophrenia remain poorly understood. In a new study published online in Genome Research March 2, 2010, however, scientists report that a powerful...
Sequencing genome of entire family reveals parents give kids fewer gene mutations than was thought
Researchers at the University of Utah and other institutions have sequenced for the first time the entire genome of a family, enabling them to accurately estimate the average rate at...
Stickleback genomes shining bright light on evolution
Twenty billion pieces of DNA in 100 small fish have opened the eyes of biologists studying evolution. After combining new technologies, researchers now know many of the genomic regions that...
Scientists reveal driving force behind evolution
The team observed viruses as they evolved over hundreds of generations to infect bacteria. They found that when the bacteria could evolve defences, the viruses evolved at a quicker rate...
Grass, fungus combination affects ecology
Fescue grass covers an area equivalent to 12 million football fields in the US, and a new study by ecologists shows that the grass and a symbiotic fungus can affect...
Stem Cell Networks in Zebrafish
Embryonic stem cells (ES cells) have invaluable potential for regenerative medicine. Scientists are only just beginning to understand the diverse developmental possibilities (“pluripotency”) of ES cells. The Pou5f1/Oct4 protein is...
There are rules in fiddler crab fight club
When conditions are right, territorial crustaceans will go to bat for their rivals
Monarch butterflies suffer population loss
Storms in Mexico devastate an already low population of the migrating butterfly. An advocacy group encourages landowners to plant milkweed to help the survivors travel. ...
All birds use the same navigation system
How do birds find their way when they fly? Scientists resolved this question a couple of years ago at DESY with the synchrotron radiation source DORIS III, when they discovered...
Ministers promise decade for African science
African science ministers will stage a 'decade of science' to keep the profile of science and technology high among their leaders.
Raptor could provide evolutionary clues
WASHINGTON, March 19 (UPI) -- A new relative of the Velociraptor discovered in China could provide clues to the evolution of the entire Dromaeosauridae family, a U.S. paleontologist said.
DNA From Dog "Weapon" Convicts Killer
Genetic Profiling of Canine Saliva, Blood Ties Microchipped Dog of Gang Member to Fatal Attack
Shell posts huge Gulf of Mexico oil find
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, March 19 (UPI) -- Royal Dutch Shell revealed a discovery Friday in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico that encountered roughly 530 feet of net...
Exotic flowers help bees stay busy in winter
Recent years have seen an unusual rise in the number of bees about in the cold winter months, and scientists are now beginning to find out why...
Predicting the fate of stem cells
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered a new method for predicting - with up to 99 percent accuracy - the fate of stem cells...
New studies reveal downstream processes of ion channel inactivation
Two studies by researchers at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine reveal new details of the mechanisms of ion channel inactivation. The papers appear in the March issue of...