Latest science news in Biology & Nature
DNA Gripped In Nanopores: Researchers Analyze Forces On DNA In Gel
Molecular biologists, including the forensic investigators on the popular TV show CSI, use gel electrophoresis to separate DNA fragments from each other in order to analyze the DNA. A team...
VHS virus infects fish via their gills
The VHS virus is known to occur in wild marine fish. The Baltic Sea, for example, has a high incidence of infected fish, in particular herring...
New Species Of Cholesterol-busting Bug With A Taste For Waste Discovered
A novel species of bacteria with cholesterol-busting properties has been discovered by scientists. They isolated the new bug, called Gordonia cholesterolivorans, from sewage sludge.
Progress Toward Artificial Tissue?
Researchers have developed a novel, highly porous, sponge-like material whose mechanical properties closely resemble those of biological soft tissues.
Flat-screen light bulbs switch on
Organic light-emitting diodes outperform fluorescent tubes, bringing closer their promise as the next generation of light bulbs.
Genital stimulation opens door for cryptic female choice in tsetse flies
By snipping off parts of male genitalia and reducing genital sensation in both male and female tsetse flies, researchers induced a suite of changes in female reproduction, including reduced ovulation,...
Small RNAs Yield Great Amounts Of Data From Ocean Microbe Samples
An ingenious new method of obtaining marine microbe samples while preserving the microbes' natural gene expression has yielded an unexpected boon: the presence of many varieties of small RNAs --...
How an enzyme tells stem cells which way to divide
Driving Miranda, a protein in fruit flies crucial to switch a stem cell's fate, is not as complex as biologists thought, according to University of Oregon biochemists. They've found that...
Neandertals sophisticated and fearless hunters
Neandertals, the 'stupid' cousins of modern humans were capable of capturing the most impressive animals. This indicates that Neandertals were anything but dim. Dutch researcher Gerrit Dusseldorp analysed their daily...
12 percent of bird species near extinction
WASHINGTON, May 14 (UPI) -- The International Union for Conservation of Nature, based in Switzerland, said Thursday 12 percent of the world's bird species face extinction.
Study focuses on compost-grown food risks
CLEMSON, S.C., May 14 (UPI) -- A U.S. researcher has been awarded a $222,000 grant to reduce bacteria being spread from farms and gardens through the use of...
Spanish queen tries to help bereaved elephant
Susi, the only elephant at the Barcelona zoo, lives in a small pen, has lost her best friend, and is said to be depressed. But now someone has come to...
Catheter ablation better than a-fib drugs
CHICAGO, May 14 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've found catheter ablation is much more efficient than drugs in treating atrial fibrillation -- a type of abnormal heart...
Nanotechnology: Self-assembly Of Building Blocks Of DNA Can Now Be Easily Controlled
Nature has long perfected the construction of nanomachines. Now researchers have brought the construction of artificial supramolecular structures a step closer. They have managed to carefully control the self-assembly of...
Basking Sharks: Disappearing Act Of World's Second Largest Fish Explained
Researchers have discovered where basking sharks -- the world's second largest fish -- hide out for half of every year. The discovery revises scientists' understanding of the iconic species and...
Feature: It’s raining frogs and lizards
WA Museum and University of Adelaide scientists have recorded a genetic treasure trove of new lizard species.
Student uses computers against hepatitis C
Viruses are wily organisms, continually adapting and changing, while using a variety of ways to evade the immune system and cause damage...
Arsenic in irrigation water is transferred to crops
A team of researchers from the University of Valladolid (UVA) and the Salamanca Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology (IRNASA-CSIC) has shown that potatoes irrigated with arsenic-rich water contain this...
GLOWING ANIMALS: Pictures of Beasts Shining for Science
Dogs, cats, monkeys, worms, fish--they've all been made to glow in the dark, thanks to one jellyfish and a whole lot of research. In this photo round-up of glowing animals...
Solving the mystery of how plants survive near Chernobyl
Twenty-two years after the Chernobyl nuclear power station accident in the Ukraine - the worst in history - scientists are reporting insights into the mystery of how plants...
Study: Bacteria might stop malaria spread
BALTIMORE, May 13 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've found bacteria in the Anopheles gambiae mosquito that can stop the mosquito from being infected with the malaria parasite.
Scientists develop tool to study a deadly parasite’s histone code
In a genome-wide study, scientists are the first to map the epigenetic changes that are likely to play a role in the molecular origami of transcription initiation in Trypanosoma brucei,...
Phoenix zoo nurses threatened frogs
PHOENIX, May 13 (UPI) -- More than 1,000 Chiricahua leopard frog tadpoles are getting a safe start in life in the Phoenix Zoo.
Brazilian invader found in Ill. ponds
WAUKEGAN, Ill., May 13 (UPI) -- Biologists in northeastern Illinois are concerned about an invasive water plant from Brazil, one they found growing under a layer of ice.
Winnipeg's fortress of deadly disease
From the outside, the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health on Arlington Street in Winnipeg's north end looks like any other fairly new government building. Big with lots...
Embryo's heartbeat drives blood stem cell formation
Biologists have long wondered why the embryonic heart begins beating so early, before the tissues actually need to be infused with blood.
The secret life of penguins revealed
Famous for its cuteness and comic gait on land, the penguin also has an enigmatic life at sea, sometimes spending months foraging in the ocean before returning to its breeding...
Claim: Swine Flu Possibly Created in Lab
This strain might have evolved in eggs scientists in some unknown lab used to grow viruses.