Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Tiger Range Countries and partners make new conservation commitments in Thailand
Governments from across Asia's tiger range countries (TRCs) sent a powerful message that new efforts to save wild tigers from extinction would begin immediately and called for total protection of...
Stem cell breakthrough: Bone marrow cells are the answer
Using cells from mice, scientists from Iowa and Iran have discovered a new strategy for making embryonic stem cell transplants less likely to be rejected by a recipient's immune system....
Deadly fish virus now found in all Great Lakes
A deadly fish virus that was first discovered in the Northeast in 2005 has been found for the first time in fish from Lake Superior, report researchers. That means that...
Study finds blood platelets can reproduce
SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- In what's described as a groundbreaking discovery, a U.S.-led research team says its found blood platelets have the ability to reproduce in...
Cause of blue crab decline is sought
CHARLESTON, S.C., Jan. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they're seeking the cause of a recent decline in the Atlantic blue crab population.
The RSPB's annual Big Garden Birdwatch begins
The Big Garden Birdwatch, the world's largest wildlife survey, is launched by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
Pollen tube growth on camera illuminates fertilisation
Studying pollen tubes, University of Massachusetts Amherst plant cell biologist Peter Hepler and colleagues have captured some of the fastest growing tissues known, on camera for the first time, to...
Researchers develop new tool for gene delivery
Researchers have developed a new tool to deliver DNA in gene therapy. DNA delivered to the retina with a peptide called PEG-POD was expressed 215 times more efficiently than delivery...
Scientists discover how certain hormones control aspects of root branching in plants
(PhysOrg.com) -- Roots are the most underestimated parts of a plant, even though they are crucial for water and nutrient uptake and consequently growth. In a world of changing water...
Poor swiftly tire of bednets, study finds
Many bednets, distributed to protect people from nightly mosquito bites, are discarded after six months, a study shows.
The birth of the biological clock
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have moved one step closer to solving the inner workings of the biological clock, by studying it from the moment it starts ticking.
In pictures: Wildlife of the Chagos islands
The British Indian Ocean territory of the Chagos islands is the UK's greatest area of marine biodiversity, home to at least 220 coral species and more than 1,000 species of...
Insectlike 'microids' might walk, run, work in colonies
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new approach in the design of miniature, insectlike robots could lead to "microids" the size of ants that move their tiny legs and mandibles using solid-state "muscles."
Green energy management: How plants cope with variable light conditions
Plants use energy derived from sunlight to form sugars from carbon dioxide and water by the process of photosynthesis. Recent discoveries made by a research group at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich,...
To restore vision, implant preps and seeds a damaged eye
Researchers trying to restore vision damaged by disease have found promise in a tiny implant that sows seeds of new cells in the eye...
Green plant transport mystery solved
Contrary to prevailing wisdom, a new study from plant biologists at UC Davis shows that proteins of the Hsp70 family do indeed chaperone proteins across the membranes of chloroplasts, just...
Iron-plated snail could inspire new armor
Tiny snails sitting on the ocean floor might seem defenseless against a large, determined predator such as a crab. But evolution has provided one species of sea snail with a unique iron-plated armored...
Sea Slugs Generating Green Energy
Photosynthesizing sea slugs take 'you are what you eat' to an extreme: by eating photosynthesizing algae, these "solar-powered" sea slugs are able to live off photosynthesis for months. How does...
Altruistic Chimpanzees Adopt Orphans
Chimpanzees can be altruistic just like humans, according to a new study that found 18 cases of orphaned chimps being adopted in the wild.
Study: Brain cancer has four subtypes
BETHESDA, Md., Jan. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say the most common form of adult brain cancer -- glioblastoma multiforme -- is not a single disease, but four distinct...
Understanding human threats to the Earth's largest habitat -- the deep sea
(PhysOrg.com) -- When most people think about the deep sea, they picture broad expanses of muddy seafloor. However, the majority of deep-sea animals, and perhaps the majority of all animals...
Mammoth Achievement: Researchers at the forefront of molecular biology
Forget Jurassic Park. By successfully sequencing the DNA of a long-extinct species, Stephan Schuster and Webb Miller have helped push back the boundaries of molecular biology.
New way found to make blood vessel cells
NEW YORK, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've developed a technique to generate functional endothelial blood vessel cells from human embryonic and pluripotent stem cells.
Targeting cancer stem cells in the lab
(PhysOrg.com) -- Understanding of the particular cancer cells within a tumour that drive its growth could now advance more rapidly, thanks to Oxford University scientists.
In Organic Cover Crops, More Seeds Means Fewer Weeds
(PhysOrg.com) -- Farmers cultivating organic produce often use winter cover crops to add soil organic matter, improve nutrient cycling and suppress weeds. Now these producers can optimize cover crop use...
ConocoPhillips, Statoil eye Alaska's OCS
HOUSTON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- ConocoPhillips and Statoil announced they teamed up on a deal to work in the outer continental shelf off the north coast of Alaska.
Royal Dutch Shell balks on tar sands
LONDON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Plans to explore tar sands in Canada will be scaled back in order to focus on conventional oil and gas reserves, executives at Royal...
“What Are We, In The Eyes Of Alien Probers?”
or perhaps "What Alien Probers Conclude Humans Are” When aliens come to Earth to investigate life here, they don’t simply beam up a specimen and start probing. (And they’re also, by...