Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Ants recruited in war on cane toad
Australian researchers have found a new way to control the dreaded cane toad: using cat food to attract vicious meat ants.
Study finds variations in one gene may be associated with endurance running
A few minor variations in one gene may make a difference in athletic endurance, according to a new study from Physiological Genomics.
Expanding The Genetic Code
Molecular Biology: New ribosome can install multiple unnatural amino acids in a protein.
Scientists find donut-shaped structure of enzyme involved in energy metabolism
Using advanced X-radiation techniques, researchers were able to visualize one of these terminals inside of an enzyme that degrades proline, which is an amino acid that has a central role...
Cell-cell interactions adapt to the stiffness of the environment
The ability of tissue cells to stick to one another is critical for many physiological and pathological processes. But normal living cells need to do much more than just hold...
All eyes on retinal degeneration
Research by Johns Hopkins sensory biologists studying fruit flies, has revealed a critical step in fly vision. Humans with problems in this same step suffer retinal dystrophies, which manifest as...
First Gene Mutations Linked to Stuttering
Researchers have pinpointed the first genetic mutations responsible for stuttering. The find links the condition,... [Read more]
Ancient Human Sequenced for First Time
Researchers have reconstructed an ancient human genome for the first time, thanks to the discovery of a 4000-year-old... [Read more]
Fertilizer Is Acidifying Chinese Land
China has long struggled to feed one-fifth of the world's population on 7% of the... [Read more]
Stress and trade-offs explain life's diversity: New Smithsonian model
Plants and people alike face critical choices as they reproduce: to make a few big, well-provisioned seeds - or babies - or many small, poorly-provisioned ones. Different species make strikingly...
Facing the corn nematode problem in Illinois
Illinois farmers know corn nematodes are a problem. Nearly 80 percent of attendees at the Illinois Corn and Soybean Classics agreed this was true in surveys conducted across the state...
Neuroscientists reveal new links that regulate brain electrical activity
Investigators in the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Faculty of Medicine, have made a major breakthrough in our understanding of nerve impulse generation within the brain. Brain cells communicate with each other...
UWM researcher predicts stem cell fate with software
A software program created by an engineer at the University of Wisconsin?Milwaukee (UWM) can not only predict the types of specialized cells a stem cell will produce, but also foresee...
Attacking cancer cells with hydrogel nanoparticles
Researchers are using hydrogels -- less than 100 nanometers in size -- to sneak a particular type of small interfering RNA into cancer cells. Once in the cell the siRNA...
Pinch away the pain: Scorpion venom could be an alternative to morphine
Researchers are investigating new ways for developing a novel painkiller based on natural compounds found in the venom of scorpions. These compounds have gone through millions of years of evolution...
Study identifies gene linked with ADHD
BETHESDA, Md., Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A U.S.-led multinational research team says it analyzed data from more than 6,000 people to find a gene linked to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Bednets to stop leishmaniasis spread
Insecticide treated bednets can help kill sand flies that spread leishmaniasis (kala-azar), trials in India and Nepal show.
Later introduction of baby foods related to lower risk of obesity later in life
The introduction of complementary feeding at a later age is protective against overweight in adulthood.
Treaty signed to protect endangered sharks
NEW YORK, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- More than 100 nations signed a U.N.-supported wildlife treaty Tuesday designed to protect shark species threatened with extinction.
Marshall Nirenberg obituary
Biochemist who won the Nobel prize for deciphering the genetic code of DNAIn 1951 James Watson and Francis Crick discovered that genetic information was held as DNA, which consisted of a spectacular double...
Americans favor conservation, but few practice it
Most Americans like the idea of conservation, but few practice it in their everyday lives, according to the results of a national survey.
Researchers milk reproductive secrets from cows
Scientists in Nova Scotia say they've found a way to give Bessie a longer reproductive life, and thus more milk for farmers.
Red squirrels making a comeback
Red squirrels are returning to areas of Scotland where they have not been seen for years, according to campaigners.
Spray-On Glass Features Unique Protective Coating
Liquid Glass provides an easy-clean coating hundreds of times thinner than a human hair.
New Transistors Mimic Human Brain's Synapses
A new transistor could pave the way for increasingly efficient computer systems that "think" like humans.
In Pictures: healing plants
Scientists and the Samburu people of Kenya are working together to better understand and safeguard the region's naturally occurring medicinal plants.
Dual functional painkillers using ionic liquids
Liquid aspirin could be possible using pharmaceutically active ionic liquids claim researchers in Northern Ireland
Rare beetles found at Blakeney
Two species new to the county are discovered as part of 187 different varieties at the National Trust reserve in north Norfolk.