Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Scripps research team creates simple chemical system that mimics DNA
A team of Scripps Research scientists has created a new analogue to DNA that assembles and disassembles itself without the need for enzymes. Because the new system comprises components that...
Male flies: Not the world's most sensitive lovers
In order to increase their chances of reproductive success, male flies of the species Drosophila montana try to copulate for much longer than the females would like. Researchers writing in...
Maple seeds and animals exploit the same trick to fly
The twirling seeds of maple trees spin like miniature helicopters as they fall to the ground. Because the seeds descend slowly as they swirl, they can be carried aloft by...
Jumping genes discovery 'challenges current assumptions'
Jumping genes do most of their jumping, not during the development of sperm and egg cells, but during the development of the embryo itself. The research, published this month in...
Stress makes your hair go grey
Those pesky greying hairs that tend to crop up with age really are signs of stress, reveals a new report in the 12 June issue of Cell, a Cell Press...
Hawaiian Islands named habitat for endangered seal
(AP) -- The federal government on Friday will significantly expand the critical habitat for endangered Hawaiian monk seals to include beaches and waters of the main Hawaiian Islands, officials...
Hidden genitalia in female water striders makes males 'sing'
In a study published in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE 10 June Chang Seok Han and Piotr Jablonski at Seoul National University, Korea, report that by evolving a morphological...
Farm gives hope to UK flora and fauna
Rare wildlife thriving at Cornish farm thanks to 30 years of ecologically sensitive management, National Trust survey shows
Net injury 'disables' minke whale
A minke whale scarred by fishing gear is seen feeding in a way never before recorded.
Emil L. Smith dies at 98; biochemist advanced protein research
He chaired UCLA's department of biological chemistry and was selected by President Nixon to lead the first scientific delegation to China. ...
Climate change? Big mammals may be flexible
Big mammals might be unexpectedly resilient in the face of global warming, suggests a new study that looked to the past for insights into the future.
Discovery Links Proteins Necessary to Repair Membranes
Researchers at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School are a step closer to treating, and perhaps preventing, muscle damage caused by disease and aging. In their study, published in the...
Possible new way to fight HIV discovered
MONTREAL, June 11 (UPI) -- Canadian researchers say they might have found a new way to fight the human immunodeficiency virus -- the microorganism that produces AIDS.
WEEK IN PHOTOS: Fish Swallowing, Robot Chef, and More
Students dance in foam, Indian asthma sufferers swallow live fish, a Japanese robot shows off its pancake-flipping prowess, and more in our editor's picks of the week's best news pictures.
Caribou/reindeer Numbers Show Dramatic Decline
Caribou and reindeer numbers worldwide have plunged almost 60 percent in the last three decades. The dramatic revelation came out of the first ever comprehensive census analysis of this iconic...
Declining water quality threatens freshwater fish species with extinction
Increasing urbanisation and more intensive farming are killing New Zealand's freshwater fish species by degrading water quality, says the author of a report published this week by the Ministry for...
Fish use electric signals to find the right mate
Electric knifefish, close relatives of the electric eel, navigate and communicate by projecting electric fields around their bodies. Research at University of Toronto is clarifying how this sense has evolved,...
China not sending 3 rare golden monkeys to US Zoo
The Los Angeles Zoo will not get a trio of rare golden monkeys from China as promised, after the city spent more than $7 million to build them a new...
Nanoparticle lung threat blocked
Scientists have identified how a type of tiny nanoparticle can cause lung cancer - and blocked the process.
'Cross' breeding: What makes an angry fly?
A suite of genes that affect aggression in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has been identified. By investigating male flies from a large panel of lines which each carry a...
New EMBL service makes web browsing efficient for biologists
The life sciences are scaling up and produce huge amounts of data and new literature at an amazing pace. The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) now offers a new free...
US to reconsider species protection for wolverines
(AP) -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service intends to reconsider its decision that denied wolverines protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Lights, Camera, Contraction!
If YouTube can illustrate how to solve a Rubik’s Cube, pick a lock and poach an egg, maybe it can also demonstrate how to give birth.
US-Mex border fence completion eludes government
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- Nearly six months after the U.S.-Mexico border fence ordered by the Bush administration was supposed to be finished, its completion is in...
UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News
Chestnut trees might slow climate change … Nightmares may be suicide risk factor … Scientists determine how snakes slither … Scientists report unusual enzyme structure ... Health/Science news from UPI.
Flee, Dry and Die: Is a New Weapon in the Bedbug Battle Ready for Action?
Bedbugs are notoriously difficult to kill. Human-created pesticides often fail to conquer the evasive bloodsuckers, but could a new chemical gleaned from the bugs themselves help? [More]
Tuberculosis bacterium subverts basic cell functions
New findings reveal that the microbe achieves virulence by disrupting immune cells' internal processes
Mites On Hissing Cockroach May Benefit Humans With Allergies
Tiny mites living on the surface of Madagascar hissing cockroaches help decrease the presence of a variety of molds on the cockroaches` bodies, potentially reducing allergic responses among humans...