Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Unlocking Genetic Diversity Of Rice
By looking at what different types of rice have in common, scientists are unlocking rice's genetic diversity to help conserve it and find valuable rice genes to help improve rice...
The 15-Minute Genome: Faster, Cheaper Genome Sequencing On The Way
In the race for faster, cheaper ways to read human genomes, Pacific Biosciences is hoping to set a new benchmark with technology that watches DNA being copied in real time....
TIGER PICTURES: Camera Traps Help Uncover 121 in Nepal
The country's first ever nationwide tiger survey is a heartening sign for the Bengal tiger, which has dropped severely in number throughout its Asian habitat, conservationists say.
TierneyLab: New Panda Preserves Suggested
Last year’s devastating earthquake in Sichuan province in China not only killed 70,000 humans. It also wiped out significant areas of panda habitat.
Nanotubes Spin As They Grow
New research showing the atom-by-atom growth of carbon nanotubes reveals they spin stepwise as they grow, much like a ticking clock. The research provides the first experimental evidence of how...
Scientists Track Impact Of DNA Damage In The Developing Brain
Switching off a key DNA repair system in the developing nervous system is linked to smaller brain size as well as problems in brain structures vital to movement, memory and...
Sponges hold stem cell secrets
Researchers have found that sea sponges produce stem cells able to turn into any cell type – not just when young, but throughout life.
Warmer Conditions Mean Shorter Lives for Cold-Blooded Animals
Temperature explains much of why cold-blooded organisms such as fish, amphibians, crustaceans, and lizards live longer at higher latitudes than at lower latitudes, according to research published this week in...
Observing Bacteria As They Infect A Living Host
Researchers have developed a new technique that allows them for the first time to make a movie of bacteria infecting their living host.
Cancer's Distinctive Pattern Of Gene Expression Could Aid Early Screening And Prevention
Distinctive patterns of genes turned off -- or left on -- in healthy versus cancerous cells could enable early screening for many common cancers and maybe help avoid them scientists...
Seawater Gets a New Definition
Seawater is a lot more complex than a simple solution of water and sodium chloride. As researchers have been discovering for the past century, it is a highly variable cocktail, and its...
Great Slave Lake fish may be new species: biologist
A fish biologist in the Northwest Territories says he may have found an entirely new species of cisco in Great Slave Lake.
African disease labs to get health check
Rating system for labs could improve diagnosis and lift standards.
Assisted reproductive techniques alter the expression of genes that are important for metabolism
Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking...
Genetically altered crops grow 'in secret'
TADCASTER, England, July 27 (UPI) -- A British university has quietly resumed growing genetically modified potatoes a year after protesters ripped up the crop, prompting calls of foul play.
Fruit flies on LSD aid psychosis study
BATON ROUGE, La., July 27 (UPI) -- Two U.S. researchers seeking to understand human psychosis and schizophrenia are studying rats and fruit flies given psychedelic LSD, the researchers say.
Fungal pesticide saves crops from locusts
Swarms of red locusts in Tanzania have been destroyed by the application of a biopesticide containing fungal spores.
Freshwater crabs 'feel the pinch'
Freshwater crabs are among the most vulnerable of all animal groups with one in six species facing extinction, say scientists.
Disease threat may change how frogs mate
Dr Amber Teacher, studying a post-doctorate at Royal Holloway, University of London, has discovered evidence that a disease may be causing a behavioural change in frogs. The research, published in...
AWOL zoo bird recaptured in Philadelphia park
Officials at the Philadelphia Zoo say they're happy that an AWOL avian has been found and is returning to its perch.
Genetic Basis For Schizophrenia
Two recent publications focus on the role of Disc1 in development, particularly the migration of cells to their proper location in the brain and subsequent differentiation into their intended fate.
Human Movement Plays Critical Role In Understanding Disease Transmission
To control mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, researchers need to look at the behavior of people, not just the insect that transmits the disease, according to new research. The study exhibits...
For Horned Lizard, Horns Alone Do Not Make The Species
Counting the horns of California's horned lizard, or coast horned lizard, is one way to try to distinguish separate species, but a new study shows that to be unreliable. Biologists...
Chimps, Like Humans, Focus On Faces
A chimp's attention is captured by faces more effectively than by bananas. A series of experiments suggests that the apes are wired to respond to faces in a similar manner...
Knockout Rats The Easy Way
Zinc finger nucleases create genetic deletions in mammals with high precision.
£100m boost for government lab
The research institute at the centre of the foot-and-mouth outbreak two years ago has been given £100m to build brand new laboratories.
Teasing apart T helper cells
The cytokine IL-9 promotes a multiple sclerosis-like disease in mice, according to a new study by Nowak et al. published online on July 13th in the Journal of Experimental Medicine....
HIV uses autophagy for its own means
Not satisfied with simply thwarting its host's defensive maneuvers, HIV actually twists one to its advantage, based on new findings from Kyei et al. in the July 27, 2009 issue...