Latest science news in Biology & Nature
New screening system for hepatitis C
A newly designed system of identifying molecules for treating hepatitis C should enable scientists to discover novel and effective therapies for the dangerous and difficult-to-cure disease of the liver, says...
Mother bats expert at saving energy
In order to regulate their body temperature as efficiently as possible, wild female bats switch between two strategies depending on both the ambient temperature and their reproductive status. During pregnancy...
New genome sequence will aid study of important food, fuel crops
A global initiative that includes key scientists from Oregon State University has successfully sequenced the genome of the wild grass Brachypodium distachyon, which will serve as a model to speed...
Kenya moves zebras to feed marauding lions
To try to feed hungry lions and prevent villagers from killing them for attacks on livestock, the Kenya Wildlife Service is moving 4,000 zebras and 3,000 wildebeest to Amboseli National...
Genetic basis for stuttering identified
Mutations found in genes responsible for directing enzymes to their cellular destination.
Logging makes forests more flammable: study
Commercial logging of moist native forests creates conditions that increase the severity and frequency of bushfires, an international study claims.
Cell-Off: Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Fall Short of Potential Found in Embryonic Version
The act of reprogramming cells to make them as capable as ones from embryos apparently can result in aberrant cells that age and die abnormally, suggesting there is...
Could Neanderthals live again?
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers are closer than ever to having a first draft of a complete sequence of the genome of a Neanderthal woman who lived some 30,000 years ago, and...
Genes behind stammering uncovered
Stammering has long been recognised to run in families, but scientists now say they have identified three genes which may cause the problem in some people.
Frozen hair unlocks past
A single human hair has provided scientists with information about Native American migration thousands of years ago.
Nuclear pore complexes harbor new class of gene regulators
Nuclear pore complexes are best known as the communication channels that regulate the passage of all molecules to and from a cell's nucleus. Researchers, however, have shown that some of...
Video: Antibiotic-free Animals
American farmers use more growth-promoting-antibiotics than any other place in the world. Katie Couric reports on a possible alternative in Denmark, which bans antibiotic use in livestock.
Restored Prairies Resist Non-Native Grasses
Presence of non-native turfgrasses in restored prairies likely due to previous site cultivations rather than post-restoration invasions as reported in Crop Science.
Poplar Science: Producing More Biomass from Genetically Beefed-Up Trees
While an all-biofuel economy is a nice notion, we often overlook the fact that biofuel sources, while renewable, are limited in their supplies just like fossil fuels. When you get down to...
Ancient Greenland gene map has a surprise
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists have sequenced the DNA from four frozen hairs of a Greenlander who died 4,000 years ago in a study they say takes genetic technology into several...
Ancient Greenlander's Whole Genome Decoded
Scientists Piece Together Detailed Facts About 4,000-Year-Old Man; Likely Faced Risk of Baldness
Semi-Finalists Named for Global Venture Challenge 2010
Student teams from 22 universities have been selected to advance to the semi-final round of the 2010 Global Venture Challenge hosted March 25-26 by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge...
Selective brain damage modulates human spirituality, research reveals
New research provides fascinating insight into brain changes that might underlie alterations in spiritual and religious attitudes. The study explores the neural basis of spirituality by studying patients before and...
DNA secrets of the ice hair
First ancient human genome sheds light on origins of Arctic people.
Surprising new branches on arthropod family tree
Any way you look at it -- by sheer weight, species diversity or population -- the hard-shelled, joint-legged creepy crawlies called arthropods dominate planet Earth. Because of their success and...
South African science: black, white and grey
The release of Nelson Mandela sent optimism coursing through South Africa's research community. Twenty years on, Michael Cherry finds that it is still struggling to get on its feet.
Stop funding Mickey Mouse degrees, says top scientist
'Funding must be channelled into science courses and research, not degrees in celebrity journalism'A leading scientist has attacked the government for funding students doing "Mickey Mouse" degrees – and called for the money...
Kew gardens may be forced to close world's largest Victorian glasshouse
Temperate House at Kew is in urgent need of restoration and in a few years could endanger public and staff, report warnsThe Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London may have to...
fMRIs reveal brain's handling of low-priority ideas
When we put an idea on the back burner, it goes into a processing area of the brain called the default-mode network. This network enables us to hold the low-priority...
Are bees addicted to caffeine and nicotine?
Bees prefer nectar with small amounts of nicotine and caffeine over nectar that does not comprise these substances at all, a new study reveals. "This could be an evolutionary development...
Cone snails and spiders help neurobiologists investigate ion channels
Neurotoxins from cone snails and spiders help neurobiologists to investigate the function of ion channels in neurons. They have developed a system which for the first time allows the targeted,...
Still looking for that woodpecker
An expensive recovery plan to save the ivory-billed woodpecker from extinction may come decades too late.
Lack of oxygen forced fishes' 1st breath
A global drop in oxygen levels may have led ancient fish to leave the water and evolve into the first air-breathing animals.