Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Antarctic Ice Creature Opens Window to Extreme Life
A shrimp-like creature and jellyfish tentacles discovered in the darkness under 600 feet of Antarctic ice, are further evidence of how life can thrive in surprising places.
How plants put down roots: Geneticists research organ development in the plant embryo
Scientists have investigated how the thale cress, Arabidopsis thaliana, forms its first roots: the root founder cell in the tiny group of cells contained in the seed is activated by...
Level of gene alters risk of Alzheimer's disease, researchers find
Using sophisticated techniques that scan the genomes of patients, researchers have found that a gene appears to either help protect against development of Alzheimer's disease, or promote the disorder depending...
Humans Could Regenerate Tissue Like Newts Do By Switching Off a Single Gene
Scientists have long been stymied by human regenerative healing -- that is, wholesale regrowth of, say, a severed limb -- an ability inherent in some species but lost on humans. But new...
Bacteria on Your Hands Could Become New Forensic Fingerprint
The cats over at CSI might just have another forensic tool to supplement their super-sleek glass and steel science lab: the bacteria on our hands. A group of researchers at University of Colorado...
To the Antarctic or Brazil for new feathers
Not only land birds, but also some seabirds, cover enormous distances during migration: the sooty shearwater, for example, circumnavigates the earth one and a half times on its travels. Despite...
Peru mahogany decision highlights overlooked timber proposals at CITES
Beyond the headline-grabbing proposals on bluefin tuna and ivory trade, the largest wildlife trade convention meeting this week will also address several timber-related issues -- an often overlooked responsibility of...
Amniotic fluid cells more efficiently reprogrammed to pluripotency than adult cells
In a breakthrough that may help fill a critical need in stem cell research and patient care, researchers have demonstrated that skin cells found in human amniotic fluid can be...
The formula for making teeth will soon be found
Each cusp of our teeth is regulated by genes which carefully control the development. A similar genetic puzzle also regulates the differentiation of our other organs and of all living...
Hormone hikes cotton yields in droughts
LUBBOCK, Texas, March 15 (UPI) -- U.S. government scientists say they've found a naturally occurring class of plant hormones called cytokinins can help increase cotton yields during droughts.
Potential CITES trade ban for rare salamander underscores wildlife e-commerce
A little-known Iranian salamander is poised to become the first example of a species requiring international government protection because of e-commerce -- a major threat to endangered wildlife that authorities...
UN: Tigers "On the Verge of Extinction"
Top United Nations Official Says World Has "Failed Miserably" in Protecting Endangered Cat
Medieval child's brain found preserved
Scientists were able to identify neurons and cerebral cells from the brain preserved from the 13th century. Brain - 13th century - Health - Conditions and...
Neuroimaging study describes Alzheimer's disease-like changes in elderly people without the disease
Researchers have related the findings that are emerging from PET-PIB imaging to changes in the function of brain circuits.
Imaging fat layer around heart can help predict disease
Imaging epicardial adipose tissue, or the layer of fat around the heart, can provide extra information compared with standard diagnostic techniques such as coronary artery calcium scoring. The size of...
Breakthrough in understanding how our body repairs itself
New research led by scientists at the University of Essex has given an insight into how the body finds damage in the DNA code to repair it...
K-State Veterinarian Says Keep Easter Lilies Away from Cats
K-State's Dr. Kenneth Harkin of Kansas State University said there is an unknown water soluble compound in the Easter lily, as well as in the tiger lily and the Asiatic...
Microfibres pure enough for the liver
A research group in Korea have developed a method to engineer artificial liver tissue using microfluidics
All aboard the DNA nanotube
Cargo-carrying DNA nanotubes that can rapidly release their load on demand have been made for the first time by Canadian researchers
Study points to role of antioxidant balance in bird health and reproduction
A balanced diet, exercise and reduced stress not only can lead to a longer life, but also better reproduction, according to a new study by a team of researchers, including...
Theory of single stem cell for blood components challenged
Components of the blood or haematopoietic system derive from stem cell subtypes rather than one single stem cell that gives rise to all the different kinds of blood cells equally,...
Fish can recognise a face based on UV pattern alone
Two species of damselfish may look identical - not to mention drab - to the human eye. But that's because, in comparison to the fish, all of us are essentially...
Protein-bait interactions, display libraries featured in Cold Spring Harbor Protocols
The use of recombinant proteins, antibodies, small molecules, or nucleic acids as affinity reagents is a simple yet powerful strategy to study the protein/bait interactions that drive biological processes. Analysis...
New Chains For Ionic Liquids
Kinked fatty acid side chains create a new class of low-melting-point salts.
Scientists find new form of prion disease that damages brain arteries
National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists investigating how prion diseases destroy the brain have observed a new form of the disease in mice that does not cause the sponge-like brain...
Smelling the scenery in stereo
Scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena have investigated another navigational skill of desert ants. These ants are already well-known for their remarkable visual orientation: they...
The scientific brain
Alink and colleagues based this conclusion on the characteristics of responses in the primary visual cortex. It is known that the primary visual cortex is critical for vision and that...
New types of bandages and wraps developed
DALLAS, March 15 (UPI) -- Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas say they have created a unique cloth that can be used for therapeutic bandages and wraps.