Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Tiger parts found in Vietnam taxi
Hanoi's Environmental Police on Thursday found a frozen tiger and more than 11 kg of tiger bones smuggled by taxi from the country's interior to Hanoi - the third seizure...
New study uses wastewater to map large-scale patterns of illicit drug use
A team of researchers has mapped patterns of illicit drug use across the US state of Oregon using a method of sampling municipal wastewater before it is treated...
New Map Of Genomic Variations Will Aid Diagnosis And Studies Of Gene Disorders
Genetics researchers have unveiled a powerful new resource for scientists and health providers studying human illnesses -- a reference standard of deletions and duplications of DNA found in the human...
DNA Not The Same In Every Cell Of Body: Major Genetic Differences Between Blood And Tissue Cells Revealed
New research calls into question one of the most basic assumptions of human genetics: that when it comes to DNA, every cell in the body is essentially identical to every...
Genomes Of Parasitic Flatworms Decoded
Scientists have determined the complete genetic sequences of two species of parasitic flatworms that cause schistosomiasis, a debilitating condition also known as snail fever. Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma japonicum are...
Surprising New Insights Into The Repair Strategies Of DNA
A microscopic single-celled organism, adapted to survive in some of the harshest environments on earth, could help scientists gain a better understanding of how cancer cells behave.
Entirely New Way To Study Brain Function Developed
Scientists have devised a chemical technique that promises to allow neuroscientists to discover the function of any population of neurons in an animal brain, and provide clues to treating and...
St. Jude scientists discover a new mechanism controlling neuronal migration
The molecular machinery that helps brain cells migrate to their correct place in the developing brain has been identified by scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The finding offers...
Mysterious Penguin Killings Vex Australia
Blood from Beachside Victims and DNA Tests Suggest the Killer is Stealthy, Fast? And Furry
Solving the mystery of DNA repair
(PhysOrg.com) -- Penny Beuning, an assistant professor of chemical biology and biotechnology at Northeastern, this month received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early-Career Development grant to study how cells...
The Brain Adapts in a Blink to Compensate for Missing Information
The human brain has long been known to perceive things that aren't there--from phantom limbs to patterns in chaos. But a new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) shows for the...
Scientists warn of Ebola outbreak in pigs
Researchers have called for government measures to cap the spread of an Ebola virus in pigs in the Philippines.
Sub-Saharan Africa news in brief: 2–15 July 2009
South Africa says yes to GM sorghum, Zambian labs on the move, Rwanda to start checking goods for toxins, and more.
'Sloppier copier' surprisingly efficient
The "sloppier copier" discovered by USC biologists is also the best sixth man in the DNA repair game, an article in the journal Nature shows.
BASKING SHARK PICTURE: Giant Stranded on Long Island
Basking sharks, the world's second biggest fish, usually die at sea. So why did a 20-foot giant beach itself on New York's Long Island on Tuesday?
Researchers discover brain-protecting protein
Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered a novel protein that can protect brain cells by interrupting a naturally occurring 'stress cascade' resulting in cell death...
Mosquitoes plaguing South Florida
MIAMI, July 15 (UPI) -- Heavy rains in South Florida have resulted in one of the worst mosquito seasons in recent years, an insect expert says.
The Wild Side: Coping With Excess
Given time, can humans evolve to the point where rich diets won’t make them obese?
Negligible impact on public safety from shark cage diving operations
A study by five university researchers -- including four from the University of Hawaii at Manoa -- concludes that existing shark cage diving enterprises in Hawai'i have a negligible effect...
Air full of fungi, study reveals
The amount and diversity of fungi floating in the air are both much higher than previously thought, according to new German research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy...
Environmental factors instruct lineage choice of blood progenitor cells
The research team led by Dr. Timm Schroeder, stem cell researcher at Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, Germany, has developed a new bioimaging method for observing the differentiation of hematopoietic progenitor cells...
Pathway Genomics launches public DNA testing
A young US start-up brimming with medical research veterans brings genetic testing to the masses on Wednesday with an affordable, comprehensive DNA service for the public.
Montenegro dams to harm crucial bird, fish habitats
Dam projects planned in Montenegro will likely harm Lake Skadar, the largest lake in the Balkans and a protected wetland site that is home to crucial bird and fish habitats,...
United we stand; divided we fall
In the July 15th issue of G&D, Dr. Roberto Kolter (Harvard Medical School) and colleagues make the unprecedented observation of paracrine signaling during Bacillus subtilis biofilm formation.
The ultimate brow lift: HDAC8 in the epigenetic control of skull morhpgenesis
In the July 15th cover story of G&D, a research team led by Dr. Eric Olson at the UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas reports that the class I histone...
Gibbon sings 'door-slamming' tune
A female gibbon is seen enhancing her territorial song with a percussive door-slamming routine.
Cicadas causing Texas-sized racket
SAN ANTONIO, July 15 (UPI) -- Bug experts in central Texas say giant cicadas have been churning out their distinctive and annoying noise around the clock.
Swine Flu Is Confirmed in 67 Cadets at the Air Force Academy
One hundred cadets are in isolation, and test results are still pending for dozens.