Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Invasive species spread hard to predict
DAVIS, Calif., Sept. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say they've determined it will not be easy to scientifically predict the spread of invasive plants and animals.
Biochemist JoAnne Stubbe wins National Medal of Science
Nation's top science honor goes to MIT biochemist for her role in helping reveal the mechanism of enzymes involved in DNA replication and repair
Invasive Species On The March: Variable Rates Of Spread Set Current Limits To Predictability
Whether for introduced muskrats in Europe or oak trees in the United Kingdom, zebra mussels in United States lakes or agricultural pests around the world, scientists have tried to find...
Crinkly wing gives efficiency
Researchers have captured and modelled the motion of a locust’s wing, finding out why insects can fly so far – and how to copy this.
Protein Helps Distinguish Chromosome Ends From DNA Breaks
Researchers have demonstrated how human cells protect chromosome ends from misguided repairs that can lead to cancer. The work follows the team's 2007 in vitro demonstration of the role of...
Memories of the way they used to be
A team of researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla have developed a safe strategy for...
Polymorphisms of the interleukin-1 gene complex may influence alcohol dependence
Cytokines are small proteins secreted by cells that serve as molecular messengers between cells. Pro-inflammatory cytokines -- which function in the immune system -- may be involved...
Get a core muscle workout using a foam roller
Update this popular abdominal exercise by performing it on a foam roller. You'll train multiple core muscles at the same time with one simple move.
Fundy right whale numbers rebound
Thirty years of conservation efforts in the Bay of Fundy appear to be paying off for the endangered North Atlantic right whale, scientists say.
Don't change that channel: DTV woes still abound
(AP) -- Think the digital TV transition is over? Not quite. Many viewers have found that they can't pick up certain stations after the switch, even with the right...
Calcium channels optimize learning
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Switzerland, have shown how calcium channels in the brain have a positive impact on learning. Their results have been...
Venom attracts decapitating flies
Chemistry may help scientists improve control of invasive fire ants
Nesting Turtles Get Military Protection
Mexican Navy patrols are helping to protect endangered Golfina, or olive ridley, turtles as they begin laying eggs at "the most important beach for marine turtle nesting in the world." Video
Exotic Life Beyond Life? Looking For Life As We Don't Know It
Scientists at a new interdisciplinary research institute in Austria are working to uncover how life might evolve with “exotic” biochemistry and solvents, such as sulphuric acid instead of water.
Cations Cling To Cartilage
A new class of contrast agents promises to generate clearer pictures of the state of cartilage in joints.
The Most Passionate Sixteen-Arm Embrace
Did you know that Isabella Rossellini writes, co-directs, and stars in a show about reproductive behavior and conservation? The show is called Green Porno. Yes, really! It has just come to...
ISU researchers working to develop, market embryonic test for bovine genetics
Looking at the genetic makeup of cattle to determine their value is nothing new. An examination of a small sample of hair or blood can reveal if a calf has...
Building a complete metabolic model
Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research, University of California, San Diego, The Scripps Research Institute, Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation and other institutions have constructed a complete...
How To Improve Vaccines To Trigger T Cell As Well As Antibody Response
Most successful vaccines stimulate antibodies that attack and kill viruses as they scoot from one cell to another. But what about viruses and other pathogens that never leave the cell?...
Secrets Of Insect Flight Revealed: Modeling The Aerodynamic Secrets Of One Of Nature's Most Efficient Flyers
Researchers are one step closer to creating a micro-aircraft that flies with the maneuverability and energy efficiency of an insect after decoding the aerodynamic secrets of insect flight.
Experts watch health of bat colonies in wake of white-nose syndrome
The tiny male bat didn't expect to wind up in a biologist's hand when he set out in search of a nighttime snack along Box Canyon Creek.
Squirrel seen savaging fruit bat
A zoologist in Africa has witnessed a and never before seen incident of a squirrel trying to kill a fruit bat.
Last chance to see the aye-aye?
Wildlife expert Mark Cawardine describes the ecological destruction of Madagascar, witnessed during his quest to find a remarkable nocturnal lemur.
Researchers Isolates Liver Cancer Stem Cells Prior To Tumor Formation
Researchers have taken an important step in understanding the role of stem cells in development of liver cancer. Using a unique approach that involves study of individual cells, the team...
Why Female Water Buffalo Have Horns but Impala Do Not?
(PhysOrg.com) -- The reason some female hoofed animals have horns while others do not has long puzzled evolutionary biologists, even the great Charles Darwin. But now a survey of 117...
Drug discovery process more accurate, less expensive using novel mass spectrometry application
Cancer and cell biology experts at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have developed a new mass spectrometry-based tool they say provides more precise, cost-effective data collection for drug discovery efforts.
Making a clean getaway: Scientists demonstrate how bird baths make for more accurate flyers
(PhysOrg.com) -- Newcastle University scientists investigating why starlings bathe so often have discovered it alters their escape behaviour, with clean birds proving the most accurate flyers.
Biopesticides: The Future of Pest Control?
Biopesticides: The Future of Pest Control? Have you ever marveled over the natural link among things that seem as totally disparate as stale beer, fox urine, fungi, canola oil, parasitic wasps,...