Latest science news in Biology & Nature
New Genetic Culprit In Deadly Skin Cancer Revealed
Drawing on the power of DNA sequencing, researchers have identified a new group of genetic mutations involved in the deadliest form of skin cancer, melanoma. This discovery is particularly encouraging...
Bonding with a Captor: Why Jaycee Dugard Didn't Flee
Many are surprised that Jaycee Dugard came to sympathize with her kidnappers, but experts say her reaction is common.
Caltech neuroscientists find brain region responsible for our sense of personal space
In a finding that sheds new light on the neural mechanisms involved in social behaviour, neuroscientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have pinpointed the brain structure responsible for...
Virus Enzymes Could Promote Human, Animal Health
(PhysOrg.com) -- Could viruses be good for you? Scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have shown that enzymes from bacteria-infecting viruses known as phages could have beneficial applications for...
Think Zinc: Molecular Sensor Could Reveal Zinc's Role In Diseases
Scientists have developed a new molecular sensor that can reveal the amount of zinc in cells, which could tell us more about a number of diseases, including type 2 diabetes....
Nanoparticle breath test for lung cancer
A gold nanoparticle sensor can quickly and easily distinguish between the breath of lung-cancer patients and healthy individuals
A Cell's Private Life: Researchers Peer Inside a Hidden Protein
(PhysOrg.com) -- To understand the molecular machinery of the human body, scientists have to be able to observe the structure of cellular proteins. This has been particularly challenging for those...
Feature: Honeybee Blues
A third of the world's food supply is under threat as a deadly parasite wipes out the most important insect on the planet - the honeybee. The only hope for...
Creating The Ultimate Drought-Resistant Lawn/Pasture Grass
Bluegrass hybrids ideal for pasture and for lawns could be developed faster using recently developed genetic markers.
New Genetic Material From Group B Streptococcus Identified
Group B Streptococcus is a versatile pathogen that affects a variety of animals. Now studies are revealing new information about this pathogen.
Grasshoppers Can Transmit Virus To Livestock
Rangeland plants may be harboring a virus that grasshoppers are transmitting to cattle, horses and other hoofed mammals, according to a new study.
Improving Hardiness In Grapes: Research Probes Day Length Sensing
Scientists are a step closer to improving the hardiness of grape varieties that can be damaged and destroyed by fall frosts and cold winters in North American vineyards.
Kenya's hippos hard hit by drought
Kenya's persistent and bruising drought is having a serious impact on the country's wildlife, one of its main tourist attractions, obliging the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to feed hippos to...
High Numbers Of Seed Scallops On Georges Bank, Low Numbers In Mid-Atlantic
A NOAA Fisheries scallop survey off the northeastern coast between North Carolina and Massachusetts shows high numbers of juvenile "recruit" sea scallops and ocean quahogs on Georges Bank tempered with...
Mouse trap history disagrees with intelligent design (Still under construction! How do I upload pictures from my desktop?)
by JLD a1ias@gmx.net Abstract Advocates of intelligent design (ID) claim that irreducibly complex systems, like mouse traps that do not work if one part is missing, cannot evolve through continuously improving the initial function by slight,...
Restoring the ecology can boost the economy
Research co-authored by Bournemouth University (BU) Professor Adrian Newton and published in the leading journal Science this week shows that ecological restoration in areas of environmental degradation can help reverse...
Researchers Hope to Mass-Produce Robots on a Chip
(PhysOrg.com) -- Tiny robots the size of a flea could one day be mass-produced, churned out in swarms and programmed for a variety of applications, such as surveillance, micromanufacturing, medicine,...
Axolotl verges on wild extinction
Fewer than 1,200 of the popular and freakish Mexican axolotl remain in the wild, new surveys reveal.
Launch for amphibian 'life raft'
Conservationists launch a new mission to save the world's amphibians from the looming threat of widespread extinctions.
Poachers threaten spider tortoise
An illegal trade in exotic pets threatens to wipe out the northern Madagascar spider tortoise, a survey has found.
Bacteria selectively kill males
A strain of bacteria that is harboured by insects kills male embryos - and itself - in "adaptive suicide", a study finds.
'Jet-boost' aids walking lobsters
Lobsters use 'jet-assisted' walking to move faster along the sea floor.
Mouse set to be 'evolution icon'
A fast-evolving deer mouse is one of the best examples yet studied of natural selection in action, say scientists.
Gordon Woods dies at 57; Veterinary scientist helped create first cloned mule
In 2003, he and two other scientists led the team that created Idaho Gem, the first cloned mule, as part of a project intended to better understand human diseases. ...
Endangered tiger cubs make debut at Utah zoo
The three cubs were born June 2 to mother Basha and father Kazek. Since then, they've been out of view while they bonded with their mother and gained strength.
Domesticated silkworms’ secrets
Scientists identify genes involved in the taming and farming of wild caterpillars
New genes give gut bacteria antibiotic resistance
Study also finds that the same genes can lead to resistance when inserted into E. coli
Arbo-Architecture: Literally Green Building Is A Tower Made From Living Trees
Members of the Research Group Baubotanik at the Institute of Theory of Modern Architecture and Design (University of Stuttgart) have been focusing on the idea of living plant constructions -...