Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Microbes produce fuels directly from biomass
Researchers have developed a microbe that can produce an advanced biofuel fuel directly from biomass. Deploying the tools of synthetic biology, the researchers engineered a strain of E. coli bacteria...
Magnesium May Boost Brainpower
Mice given extra doses of a new magnesium compound had better working memory, long-term memory and greater learning ability.
Keeping black bears wild
Wildlife managers test out ways to keep bears away from food, people
Magellanic region rich in biodiversity
PORVENIR, Chile, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- A study of worms, sponges and other macrobenthos animals are revealing the mysteries of the Straits of Magellan, a British scientist said.
The almond tree's secret weapon
The nectar of the almond tree produces an extraordinary and dangerous poison. This is the only known plant to have this poison in its flowers' nectar. A study carried out...
Tungsten Breaks Tough Bond
Organometallics: Rare carbon-carbon bond scission could lead to new route for functionalizing aromatics.
Neuroscientists making computers smart enough to see connections between brain's neurons
(PhysOrg.com) -- C. elegans, a tiny worm about a millimeter long, doesn`t have much of a brain, but it has a nervous system - one that comprises 302 nerve...
Leukemia cells metabolize fat to avoid cell death
Leukemia cells, like most cancers, are addicted to glucose to generate their energy, but new research shows for the first time that these cells also rely on fatty acid metabolism...
Mouse skin cells turned directly into neurons, skipping IPS stage
Even Superman needed to retire to a phone booth for a quick change. But now scientists have succeeded in the ultimate switch: transforming mouse skin cells in a laboratory dish...
Secrets of immunologic memory: New understanding of CD44 receptor's role in immune cell survival
Investigators have discovered a new way the cell surface protein, CD44, helps specific T helper cells develop immunologic memory.
Why can’t ostriches fly
As the Age of Dinosaurs came to an end, some flying birds swooped in and took up the newly available niches, foraging on the ground, eventually losing the ability to...
Scientists map changes in science and beyond
How has the structure of scientific research changed over the past decade? A team of researchers from Umeľ University, Sweden, and the University of Washington, USA, aims to answer...
Taiwan pushes e-books but lacks Chinese content
(AP) -- Taiwan leads the world in development of readers for the fast-growing electronic book market, but when it comes to satisfying the e-appetites of the island's highly literate population,...
Map exposes cow gas gene
Cows release a lot of greenhouse gas when they digest, but a new study has mapped DNA from one of the culprits – a bacteria species.
Plant flavanoid may help prevent leukemia
LONDON (Reuters) - Eating foods like celery and parsley which contain the naturally occurring flavanoid apigenin may help prevent leukemia, Dutch scientists said Thursday.
World Bank wants tiger farms shut
BANGKOK (AP) -- China and other Asian nations should shut privately run tiger farms as they are inhumane and fuel demand for the endangered big cat's...
Does evolution always lead to bigger brains?
The commonly held assumption that as primates evolved, their brains always tended to get bigger has been challenged by a team of scientists at Cambridge and Durham. Their work helps...
Trees retaliate when their fig wasps don't service them
Figs and fig wasps have evolved to help each other out: Fig wasps lay their eggs inside the fruit where the wasp larvae can safely develop, and in return, the...
Birds follow their noses during migration
Birds largely rely on their sense of smell to navigate on their long migration routes. Indeed, the “third sense” has been shown to be a more important for them than...
Letters: Genetic contribution to human behaviour
In his latest rant against genetics, Oliver James either does not understand, or wilfully misunderstands, the genetic basis of neurobiology, and purposefully overlooks huge swathes of scientific literature (
Apple's New iPad: Why We Should Care
CNET.com Senior Editor Natali Del Conte Gives Her Take on Apple's Newest Product
Long-Awaited Barefoot Running Study Finds Sneakers Are Harmful
Shoes change the human foot strike and may lead to more running injuries All the latest footwear engineering in your running sneakers might not mean a thing when it comes to preventing injuries....
NASA satellite sees Tropical Depression 10P Strengthening in south Pacific
NASA's Aqua satellite is keeping an eye on the tenth tropical depression to form in the southern Pacific Ocean. Tropical Depression 10P has formed overnight and is expected to continue...
Bacteria Transformed into Biofuel Refineries
The bacteria responsible for most cases of food poisoning in the U.S. has been turned into an efficient biological factory to make chemicals , medicines and, now, fuels. Chemical...
Sea turtles face surgery due to cold spell
BOCA RATON, Fla., Jan. 27 (UPI) -- A nature center official in Boca Raton, Fla., said 35 green sea turtles underwent surgery for a disease caused in part by...
Sub-Saharan Africa news in brief: 14–27 January 2010
Africa to get access to world-class labs, sunflower genome mapping could boost agriculture, gorillas carry malaria parasites, and more.
Systems Biology Has Become Meaningless
Since when has systems biology been a synonym for genomics? This is from a Perspective piece in the Oct. 2 issue of Science: The relative value of discovery aimed at hypothesis generation...
UFO sighting puzzles N.L. residents
Residents in Harbour Mille, a tiny community on Newfoundland's south coast, want to know what they saw in the sky Monday night.