Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Global Update: Crop Disease: In Africa Where Bananas Are a Staple, Two Diseases Are Destroying Plants
Two diseases are attacking banana crops across central Africa, putting about 30 million people at risk in regions where it is a staple.
First Close Look At Stimulated Brain
With the aid of optical imaging technology, researchers have for the first time been able to see how neurons react to electrical stimulation. The neural response to electrical currents isn't...
Small rodents encourage the formation of scrubland in Spain
After two years of research over five degraded landscapes in the National Park of Sierra Nevada (Granada), scientists have established for the first time that field mice base their diet...
Intricate bat 'love songs' decoded
The love songs of free-tailed bats show a similar level of complexity as whale and bird songs.
Silky, wiry, short or long - how genes change dogs' coats
Silky, wiry, short or long - just three genes account for the wide variety of dog's coats, say scientists.
A trip to the garbage patch
Scientists bring back debris samples from the North Pacific subtropical convergence zone
Feathers - Bringing You Iridescent Colors For 40 Million Years
Birds have a wide variety of vibrant plumages and have evolved various chemical and physical mechanisms to produce these beautiful colors over millions of years. When did feathers first get...
Not Just Circadian Rhythm - The Red Light Link To Nighttime Awareness
Circadian rhythms are 24-hour cycles in various biological processes like core body temperature, melatonin synthesis and sleep–wake behavior. They are synchronized most strongly by the light–dark cycle in the...
For Some Females, Fasting Prolongs Reproductive Life Span
If you studied the basics of human anatomy, you probably know that females are born with their entire lifetime's supply of eggs and once they're gone, they're gone. New...
A better test to detect DNA for diagnosing disease, investigating crimes
Researchers in Singapore are reporting development of a new electronic sensor that shows promise as a faster, less expensive, and more practical alternative than tests now used to detect DNA....
Getting wired: How the brain does it
In a new study, researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (The Neuro), McGill University have found an important mechanism involved in setting up the vast communications network of...
The invasive green mussel may inspire new forms of wet adhesion
The green mussel is known for being a notoriously invasive fouling species, but scientists have just discovered that it also has a very powerful form of adhesion in its foot,...
Mice living in sandy hills quickly evolved lighter colouration
In a vivid illustration of natural selection at work, scientists at Harvard University have found that deer mice living in Nebraska's Sand Hills quickly evolved lighter colouration after glaciers deposited...
Milk drinking started around 7,500 years ago in central Europe
The ability to digest the milk sugar lactose first evolved in dairy farming communities in central Europe, not in more northern groups as was previously thought, finds a new study...
Researchers identify new, cancer-causing role for protein
The mainstay immune system protein TRAF6 plays an unexpected, key role activating a cell signalling molecule that in mutant form is associated with cancer growth, researchers at The University of...
Gene Variation Is 'Major Genetic Determinant Of Psoriasis'
A specific genetic region that has been increasingly identified as the strongest genetic link to psoriasis has an even more significant role in the chronic skin disease than has been...
Restoring A Natural Root Signal Helps To Fight A Major Corn Pest
Agricultural researchers have successfully manipulated a crop plant to emit a signal that attracts beneficial organisms. Genetic transformation of maize plants resulted in the release of the naturally active substance...
Parasites Ready To Jump: Even DNA Is Subject To Attack By Parasites
Even DNA is subject to attack by parasites -- so-called transposons. Transposons are mobile genetic elements that can insert into genomes at variable sites and disseminate to new locations. Researchers...
Gene mutation alone causes transmissible prion disease
For the first time, Whitehead Institute researchers have shown definitively that mutations associated with prion diseases are sufficient to cause a transmissible neurodegenerative disease.
The brain predicts what the eyes will see
ABERDEEN, Scotland, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Scottish scientists say they've found the human brain predicts the consequences of eye movement even before the eyes take in a new scene.
World's largest bats might become extinct
NEW YORK, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- The Wildlife Trust says the world's largest species of fruit bat, Pteropus vampyrus, could become extinct in Peninsular Malaysia at the current hunting...
New marine life found in mile-long cave
GALVESTON, Texas, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A crustacean with poisonous fangs and no eyes has been discovered in an underwater cave in the Canary Islands, researchers in Texas said.
Watermelon Juice May Be Next "Green" Fuel
Step aside, corn: Another summertime picnic favorite might be the next big thing in ethanol production, a new study suggests.
National Academy as National Enquirer ? PNAS Publishes Theory That Caterpillars Originated from Interspecies Sex
Caterpillars transform into butterflies and moths via a radical process known as metamorphosis, where their bodies virtually turn to soup and develop anew. [More]
Dueling Nostrils: Will It Be the Scent of a Rose or a Marker Pen?
They come in pairs, just like the ears and eyes, yet far less is known about how our nostrils send sweet and stinky scents alike to the brain. In fact, until now,...
Researchers Spawn a New Breed of Robotic Fish
Engineers have long looked to nature for clues that will help then build robots that move with anything close to the grace that living things exhibit. Although the use of rigid metal...
Waiting for Next-Gen Anti-Mosquito Chemicals with Bated Breath
With every breath you take, they'll be watching you--and anticipating their next blood feast. It's true--mosquitoes get dinner signals from your exhaled carbon dioxide, along with your body heat and moisture. But what...
Cancer in Wildlife May Signal Toxic Dangers
Thirty years ago, a Canadian marine biologist noticed something mysterious was happening to beluga whales in the St. Lawrence Estuary. Decades of over-hunting had decimated the population, but several years after the government...