Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Frogs' secret disposal system revealed
Talented amphibians urinate foreign objects implanted in their body cavities.
Miscanthus, a biofuels crop, can host western corn rootworm
The western corn rootworm beetle, a pest that feasts on corn roots and corn silk and costs growers more than $1 billion annually in the US, also can survive on...
Discovery Channel Joins ESPN In 3D Push
Channels Working Separately to Incorporate Emerging 3D Market Into Programming
Study provides insight into pathway linked to obesity
A new study involving the University of Iowa, Mayo Clinic and two other institutions provides insight on weight control, suggesting that a ATP-sensitive potassium channel critical to survival and stress...
1 solution to obesity: Muscles that act as an energy drain
Many people have traded in their gas-guzzling old 'clunkers' for newer and more efficient models or cut back on energy use at home by opting for Energy Star appliances and...
'Junk DNA' could spotlight breast and bowel cancer
Scientists at The University of Nottingham have found that a group of genetic rogue elements, produced by DNA sequences commonly known as 'junk DNA,' could help diagnose breast and bowel...
Sweet corn study provides large-scale picture of better fields
In what amounted to a kind of census of sweet corn grown for processing, three years of data from 175 fields in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota shed light on what...
Early-warning system defends rare Jersey cows from disease spreading through Europe
Scientists from the Channel Islands are working on an early-warning system to help defend cattle against "bluetongue" disease, which can be carried from France by the wind.
Research unlocks secrets of protein linked to spread of viruses
Researchers have unlocked some of the secrets of a viral protein, known as Rev, which plays an essential role in the propagation mechanism of certain types of viruses within an...
How to build bone: Separate bone formation from bone destruction
Treatments for osteoporosis need to increase the amount and/or quality of bone. As bone formation is tightly coupled to bone destruction, researchers looking to develop new approaches to build bone...
Researchers study microbes in cattle to unlock metabolic disease mysteries
VERNON -- Switching from warm-season grasses to cool-season forages can give livestock a belly ache, in some cases a deadly one, according to Texas AgriLife Research scientists.
AgriLife researcher studies chemical control of potato psyllid
LUBBOCK -- A Texas AgriLife Research entomologist in Lubbock is trying to determine the best management practices to reduce a potato crop's risk to zebra chip, a disease that...
It's Not Only the Gene That Counts, But How You Use It
Scientists at the University of Idaho have discovered not only that different species sometimes use the same gene to produce the same adaptation, but also that how they use it...
Use mussels to look younger
An amino acid found in mussels makes a biocompatible hydrogel for tissue engineering and wrinkle filling.
Cameroon puts brain drain into reverse
Cameroon's government has diverted funds gained from a debt write-off to academic salaries — and has now boosted scientist numbers.
In pictures: Counting the animals at London zoo
The annual stocktake at London zoo – a compulsory requirement of every zoo – is a headcount of each and every one of its hundreds of animals
Florida cold snap threatens iguanas
MARGATE, Fla., Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Southern Florida's unusually cold weather likely will reduce the number of invasive iguanas considered a pest by many, officials said.
Turning Rapid Mutation Against Viruses
Rapid evolution could lead to "lethal mutagenesis" and kill off pesky viruses Viruses can rapidly evolve and adapt to the latest antiviral drugs in a never-ending war of survival. Yet some scientists have...
Roundworm Repository Contributes to Agricultural Wellbeing
(PhysOrg.com) -- Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Beltsville, Md., manage a most unusual sort of insurance: 43,000 slides and vials containing all manner of wormlike organisms called nematodes, from...
From arc to park
(PhysOrg.com) -- Parasite infections are an important threat in conservation biology, particularly to individuals that have been bred in captivity for release into the wild.
NZ, Australia to research whales
New Zealand and Australia are to research whales using non-lethal methods, to counter Japan's hunting programme.
Kenya holds 'rhino poaching gang'
Kenyan authorities arrest a gang suspected of killing a white rhino and cutting off its horns for sale on the black market.
NDSU Prof. Sivaguru Jayaraman to Receive International Award
Sivaguru Jayaraman, (Siva) Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry and molecular biology at North Dakota State University, Fargo, has been selected as the 2010 laureate of the Swiss Chemical Society's Grammaticakis-Neumann...
In pictures: Humpback whales feeding in Alaska
British photographer and kayaker Duncan Murrell paddles close to humpback whales to shoot them feeding off the coast of Alaska
The Doctor's World: For F.D.R. Sleuths, New Focus on an Odd Spot
A new book, “F.D.R.’s Deadly Secret,” revives an intriguing theory about a medical mystery around the 32nd president that persists to this day.
Analysis of microbes, immune response featured in Cold Spring Harbor Protocols
Metagenomics, the study of DNA isolated from samples of naturally occurring microbial populations, is rapidly growing. Improvements to cloning and sequencing techniques are allowing researchers to...
LSU professor develops technology to take mystery out of fishing
Fishing, a supposedly relaxing pastime, all too often becomes a frustrating series of near misses and lost chances for the recreational sportsman. This frustration is magnified for those who make...
Observatory: Much-Maligned Mother of Many Beloved Wines
In a new look at the DNA in chloroplasts in a dozen grape varieties, researchers discovered that gouais blanc was the maternal parent of nine.