Latest science news in Biology & Nature
SeaWorld Called Best Place for Tilikum
Ex-Trainer: "No Better Place" for Whale; Says Setting Tilikum Free Isn't an Option
Why Do Animals Grow Bigger In The Cold?
A possible new solution to a 163-year-old biology puzzle - why animals grow bigger in cold climates - may have been found, according to researchers who say ecological factors can now...
Sea turtles aiding robotics
JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga., Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Studying the locomotion of baby loggerhead sea turtles is providing clues for the development of robots over varying terrain, scientists in Georgia...
Novel antitoxin strategy developed using 'tagged binding agents'
A study involving the world's deadliest substance has yielded a new strategy to clear toxins from the body -- which may lead to more efficient strategies against toxins that may...
Plotting and treachery in ant royal families
A team from the University of Copenhagen, led by postdoc Luke Holman of the Center for Social Evolution, describes in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, published on the 24...
Nouns and Verbs Learned in Different Brain Regions
Humans learn nouns and verbs in different regions of their brains, a new study says.
Hormone study gives scientists a sense of how animals bond
Scientists have pinpointed how a key hormone helps animals to recognise others by their smell...
Interactions between species: Powerful driving force behind evolution?
Scientists in the UK have provided the first experimental evidence that shows that evolution is driven most powerfully by interactions between species, rather than adaptation to the environment.
What to do with captive orcas?
Attacks by orcas are rare, but they highlight the tensions between these large marine predators and people.
Stem cells restore sight in mouse model of retinitis pigmentosa
An international research team led by Columbia University Medical Centre successfully used mouse embryonic stem cells to replace diseased retinal cells and restore sight in a mouse model of retinitis...
Caltech scientists find first physiological evidence of brain's response to inequality
The human brain is a big believer in equality - and a team of scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, has become...
Brain implant reveals the neural patterns of attention
A paralysed patient implanted with a brain-computer interface device has allowed scientists to determine the relationship between brain waves and attention...
Poisonous friends help mimic
Staying near poisonous fish can have a lot of advantages, according to a recent study – it can help both avoid predators and attack prey.
Freshwater fish under pressure
Researchers have found that many freshwater fish in Australia's south-west are in danger of extinction, due to bad water and exotic fish.
Neural mechanism may underlie an enhanced memory for the unexpected
The human brain excels at using past experiences to make predictions about the future. However, the world around us is constantly changing, and new events often violate our logical expectations....
Buckyball-based gene delivery
Japanese researchers have demonstrated effective gene delivery in mice using carbon buckyballs
African pygmy mice: Females are XY ... researchers find out why
In a great majority of cases, the Y chromosome determines sex in mammals. The African pygmy mouse M. minutoides is an exception to this rule. In this species, which is...
Genetic link between misery and death discovered; novel strategy probes 'genetic haystack'
Researchers have discovered what they describe as a biochemical link between misery and death, and in addition found a specific genetic variation that seems to break that link. Additionally, they...
Biology May Not Be so Complex Afterall
(PhysOrg.com) -- Centuries ago, scientists began reducing the physics of the universe into a few, key laws described by a handful of parameters. Such simple descriptions have remained elusive for...
Where does the fluid go?
MADISON, WI, FEBRUARY 22, 2010 -- Combined mechanisms of transport have important applications -- transport of nutrients across cell membranes in plants and animals, the aeration of agricultural...
Tips from the Journals of the American Society for Microbiology
Campylobacter Bacteria in Cattle Manure May Survive Composting
Do Ocean-Bottom Bacteria Make Their Own Power Grids?
Subsea microbes may keep each other alive by exchanging energy [Read more]
Plague effects on wildlife inaccurate?
RESTON, Va., Feb. 24 (UPI) -- A U.S. Geological Survey study suggests the effects of plague on wildlife might have been underestimated in the past.
Dual Benefits For Big Rings
Organic Synthesis: Bifunctional reagent adds to the tool kit for making macrocycles.
Obama Errs on Research Number
Speaking last spring at the National Academy of Sciences, President Obama said he hoped... [Read more]
African countries fight banana disease
Two deadly banana diseases are notoriously hard to detect — now seven African nations are setting up a surveillance system.
Giraffes, cranky hippo oversee Paris zoo redo
For a zoo, it's a quiet and lonely place. Among the few remaining residents of Paris' main animal park are the giraffes — whose long necks make travel inconvenient —...
The stranglers: the five plants threatening Britain's waterways
Your pond could be harbouring a would-be killer, says Jane PerroneDo you know what's lurking in your garden pond? OK, so it may well be frozen over right now, but have a...