Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Milk Goes 'Green': Today's Dairy Farms Use Less Land, Feed and Water
Dairy genetics, nutrition, herd management and improved animal welfare over the past 60 years have resulted in a modern milk production system that has a smaller carbon footprint than mid-20th...
Research Team Finds Key Target of Aging Regulator
Researchers at The Wistar Institute have defined a key target of an evolutionarily conserved protein that regulates the process of aging. The study provides fundamental knowledge about key mechanisms of...
A voice only a mom could love: New insight into maternal auditory cortex plasticity
A recent study reveals changes specific to the mother mouse brain that may improve the detection of isolation calls from a mouse baby. The research, published by Cell Press in...
Neural mechanism supports survival in an uncertain world
A new study uncovers a pivotal role for the human frontal lobe in the promotion of behavioural flexibility during voluntary choice. The work, published by Cell Press in the 11th...
Beetle shell inspires brilliant white paper
An obscure species of beetle has shown how brilliant white paper could be produced in a completely new way. A team from Imerys Minerals Ltd. and the University of Exeter...
Hatchery fish may hurt efforts to sustain wild salmon runs
Steelhead trout that are originally bred in hatcheries are so genetically impaired that, even if they survive and reproduce in the wild, their offspring will also be significantly less successful...
Team led by Scripps research scientists finds new way that cells fix damage to DNA
A team of researchers at The Scripps Research Institute and other institutions has discovered a new way by which DNA repairs itself, a process that is critical to the protection...
Researchers describe 'implausible' chemistry that produces herbicidal compound
A soil microbe that uses chemical warfare to fight off competitors employs an unusual chemical pathway in the manufacture of its arsenal, researchers report, making use of an enzyme that...
Drugs against winter vomiting disease one step closer
The virus that causes winter vomiting disease invades cells by attaching to particular sugar molecules on the surface of the cells. This is the conclusion of a thesis presented at...
2 signals -- from within and out of cell -- specify motor neuron differentiation
Two signals – an external one from retinoic acid and an internal one from the transcription factor Neurogenin2 – cooperate to activate chromatin (the basic material of chromosomes) and help...
Web site offers species origin information
STATE COLLEGE, Pa., June 10 (UPI) -- Two U.S. universities have created a Web site that offers easy access to the latest knowledge about the origin of species...
South Asia News in brief: 28 May–10 June 2009
The WHO calls for rotavirus immunisation, the Narmada River harbours dysentery-causing bacteria, Jatropha eradicates toxic metals, and more.
Cancer Found To Be A Moving Target
Scientists have mathematically analyzed the mutator hypothesis and compared the cancer-generating efficiency of mutator and nonmutator pathways to cancer.
Bisphenol A exposure in pregnant mice permanently changes DNA of offspring
Exposure during pregnancy to the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, found in many common plastic household items, is known to cause a fertility defect in the mother's offspring in animal...
Green tea: Seeking hope in a dose of nature
Once a day, Matthew Hudson takes a square of chocolate mixed with green-tea extract and lets it dissolve in his mouth.
Is Cancer the Price for Our Big Brains?
Human's large brain size could be one reason why we are more prone than chimps to cancer
Doctorate In Beautiful Flowerbeds
What colors make a garden beautiful? What colors match and what colors clash? How can a flowerbed be planned based on scientific color theory? A student recently earned her doctorate...
Long-standing Mystery Of How Plants Make Eggs Solved
Scientists have discovered that a plant hormone called auxin is responsible for development of the egg cell in a plant's embryo sac. In unraveling this fundamental issue in plant biology,...
Cats escape parasite blame
A recent study found that cats aren’t the only animals spreading toxoplasmosis in Australia – native carnivores may be responsible.
Nerve fibers grow cleverly
Researchers were recently able to predict how nerve fibers navigate growth – using a model where they grew in the smartest way possible.
Protecting mangroves for the nation
The Brazilian government yesterday officially declared a new conservation area that will help protect one of the world's most important coral reefs, and benefit thousands of people who depend on...
'Weedy' bird species may win as temperatures rise
Climate change is altering North American winter bird communities in ways that models currently favoured by ecologists fail to predict...
Cancer found to be a moving target
Cancer is the result of Darwinian evolution among populations of cells, in which the fittest cells win the struggle for survival, while ultimately killing the person of whom they are...
Hummingbirds are faster than jets
Caught on camera: male hummingbirds' dive faster than a jet fighter, and all to try to impress the ladies.
How climate change could leave some species stuck in the kitchen
African bird species could struggle to relocate to survive global warming because natural features of the landscape will limit where they can move to, according to new research published today...
Label for first homoeopathic product may be illegal, warns senior scientist
The labelling for the first homoeopathic product to get a licence from the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) should be illegal, because they breach Unfair Trading regulations,...
Research shows brain cells make clever connections
(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Queensland research has revealed that growing nerve fibres may navigate by using a clever mathematical trick.
Work of Field Museum scientist addresses question of chance in evolution
As Darwin observed, natural selection leading to adaptation of individuals and populations is occurring gradually and all the time. But over very long spans of time, the major channels of...