Latest science news in Biology & Nature
How nerve cells grow
Brain researcher Hiroshi Kawabe has discovered the workings of a process that had been completely overlooked until now, and that allows nerve cells in the brain to grow and form...
Genes, environment, or chance?
Biologists attribute variations among individual organisms to differences in genes or environment, or both. But a new study of nematode worms with identical genes, raised in identical environments, has revealed...
Biologists discover how biological clock controls cell division in bacteria
A team of biologists has unravelled the biochemistry of how bacteria so precisely time cell division, a key element in understanding how all organisms from bacteria to humans use their...
Bad news for bats: Deadly white-nose syndrome still spreading
The bat-killing fungal infection known as white-nose syndrome (WNS) has spread into Tennessee for the first time. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has confirmed that infected bats were...
Dolphins have diabetes off switch
Dolphins develop a form of type 2 diabetes, the only animal other than humans to do so, although dolphins can turn it on and off, researchers say.
Carnivorous plants hold anti-fungal clues
TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Enzymes found in the liquid of carnivorous plants could serve as a new class of anti-fungal drugs in human medicine, scientists in...
Fungal Fumes Clear Out Destructive Wheat Pests
Scientists searching for alternatives to synthetic pesticides say volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by the fungus Muscodor albus may offer a biologically based way to rid certain crops of destructive...
Scientists identify critical enzyme in healthy heart function
CINCINNATI -- Scientists are reporting the first-ever data to show that the enzyme calcineurin is critical in controlling normal development and function of heart cells, and that loss of...
A population genetics approach identifies susceptibility variants for viral infections
Viruses have played a role in shaping human genetic variability, according to a study published February 19 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics. The researchers, from the Don C. Gnocchi...
Indian wild cats caught on film
One of the world's highest number of wild cat species is recorded in India's Eastern Himalayan rainforest.
Hibernating bear stars on webcam
People around the world can now go online to peek inside the den of a rare kermode bear in B.C. while the animal hibernates. A couple from the community of...
Natural compound found in marine sponges inhibits cancer cell migration
Investigators have discovered that the natural compound sceptrin, which is found in marine sponges, reduces cancer cell motility (movement) and has very low toxicity.
Illegal hotels threaten African reserve
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Illegal tourist hotels operating in Kenya's Maasai Mara Game Reserve are a threat to the region's fragile ecosystem, a report in a British...
Study shows how viruses changed human evolution
LONDON (Reuters) - Italian scientists said on Friday they had found evidence of how viruses helped change the course of human evolution and said their discovery could help in the...
Study Reveals Plasmodium's Replication Trick
The mechanism by which Plasmodium, the malaria parasite, intensively replicates itself in human blood to spread the disease has alluded researchers despite decades of rigorous research. But now biologists writing...
Virtualizing succession and sustainability
How do we as a society imagine our future? With social and natural environments changing, often quickly, it's difficult to imagine how our society might look a generation or more...
Cancer Monitoring With a Personal Touch
Sequencing a person's tumor DNA yields individualized blood biomarkers [Read more]
New evidence that green tea may help fight glaucoma and other eye diseases
Scientists have confirmed that the healthful substances found in green tea - renowned for their powerful antioxidant and disease-fighting properties - do penetrate into tissues of the eye....
New marine plant identification guide for Panama's Eastern Pacific
Marine Plants of Pacific Panama is a new, online identification guide to more than 120 marine algae. Developed by Smithsonian marine biologists Diane and Mark Littler in conjunction with the...
Ottawa funds snake research in Saskatchewan
Scientists in Saskatchewan are getting some cash from Ottawa to learn more about a rare green-and-yellow snake.
When Does an Otter Look Like a Drowning Man?
A group of people thought a sea otter was a drowning snowmobiler in desperate need of help.
Transforming skin cells into stem cells using a molecular toolkit
In an effort to sidestep the ethical dilemma involved in using human embryonic stem cells to treat diseases, scientists are developing non-controversial alternatives: In particular, they are looking for drug-like...
Study outlines cholera infection mechanism
HANOVER, N.H., Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Dartmouth University scientists say they've discovered how the bacterium that causes cholera becomes infectious.
Synthesized compounds kill cancer cells
NEW HAVEN, Conn., Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Yale University scientists say they've updated the process for synthesizing a family of compounds with the potential to kill cancer and other...
Darwinian Rock-Paper-Scissors Leads To New Lizard Species
A new study in PNAS of the side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana) may bolster the idea that 'morphs', morphologically distinct types often found within species, could be the raw material for...
Oil droplets can navigate complex maze
Call them oil droplets with a brain or even "chemo-rats." Scientists in Illinois have developed a way to make simple oil droplets "smart" enough to navigate through a complex maze...
Forage plant wards off ruminant gastrointestinal nematode
A common pasture plant could help foraging ruminants ward off damaging gastrointestinal nematodes that can cause illness and death, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists report.
Common scents: Honeybees guide neurological discoveries
Every moment of every day the brain is forced to process thousands of separate odorants from the world around us. Through a new study of honeybees, scientists have discovered the...