Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Healthy reefs 'vital to humanity'
Taking care of the Great Barrier Reef's biodiversity will protect society in the future, an expert suggests.
Science agency to review FBI's anthrax inquiry
(AP) -- The National Academy of Sciences said Friday it will review the lab work behind the FBI's conclusion that Army scientist Bruce Ivins was responsible for the anthrax...
UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News
Feds let stand Bush ruling on polar bears ... Scientists work to cut cow gas ... Oxygen spike may have caused ice age ... Basking sharks farther south than thought...
Deep in the Red: Using Infrared to Watch What Goes On in a Living Body
Fluorescent proteins, which are compounds that can absorb and then emit light, have become a powerful instrument in the cell biologist's toolkit--so powerful, in fact, that the discovery and development...
Silkworms favor jasmine-scented chemical
TOKYO, May 8 (UPI) -- Japanese scientists say they've isolated the jasmine-scented chemical that attracts silkworms to mulberry leaves -- their primary food source.
Study reveals current multi-component vaccines may need reworking
Current strategies for designing vaccines against HIV and cancers, for instance, may enable some components in multi-component vaccines to cancel the effect of others on the immune system, eliminating their...
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, according to a report published online on 7th May in...
Gecko vision: Key to the multifocal contact lens of the future?
Nocturnal geckos are among the very few living creatures able to see colours at night, and scientists' discovery of series of distinct concentric zones may lead to insight into better...
A new light on the mechanisms of early stage liver reperfusion injury
Reperfusion of a previously ischaemic tissue is associated with additional injury leading to structural and functional alterations in many organs including the liver. The injury induced during reperfusion is evolved...
Analysing effects of underwater noise on sperm whales
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists are investigating whether or not noise generated by the oil and gas industry might affect the day-to-day behaviour of sperm whales.
DNA Tests Could Show if Lincoln Was Terminally Ill
A DNA test could show whether President Abraham Lincoln was dying of a rare genetic disease before his assassination.
Cell's split personality is a major discovery into neurological diseases
Researchers at the Université de Montreal (UdeM) and the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University have discovered that cells which normally support nerve cell (neuron) survival also play an active...
Die, Humans! Is Mother Nature Sick of Us?
James Lovelock says humanity is "Earth's infection."
Sleep may keep you thin: studies
The secret of staying thin could be at least partly down to a good night's rest, an international conference on obesity heard in Amsterdam on Thursday.
Rabbits on the back foot -- but naturally they're fighting back
Australian rabbits have had everything but the kitchen sink thrown at them over the years. Myxomatosis knocked them about but they bounced back. The same with rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD)...
Entomologists seek fungus to blunt mosquitoes' sense of smell
Sick people often lose their sense of smell and their appetite. If this happened to mosquitoes, they would not be able to feed on humans and spread malaria. A team...
Meet DNA's personal assistants
Just as scientists finished sequencing the human genome, they got a new surprise. Inside the genetic pathway, where DNA produces proteins to sustain life, they found microRNA. These tiny ubiquitous...
Are Those Birds In Your Pants?
Props to whoever noticed bird poop on a smuggler's socks. The smuggler passing through LAX turned out to have 14 birds in his pants when he was busted. Of course...
White Tea: Solution To Obesity Epidemic?
Possible anti-obesity effects of white tea have been demonstrated in a series of experiments on human fat cells (adipocytes). Researchers have shown that an extract of the herbal brew effectively...
Feature: Ant affair
A young researcher says learning about how ants navigate the landscape could inform the development of 'seeing' robots.
Unprecedented Data On Circadian Rhythms Revealed
Fluctuations in light intensity allow restoring the regularity of circadian rhythms. In higher organisms, such as mammals, biological or circadian rhythms are generated by a multicellular genetic clock which is...
Insect gene expression responds to diet
Cabbage looper caterpillars (Trichoplusia ni) are able to alter the expression of genes associated with metabolism, homeostasis and immunity in response to feeding on plants carrying bacteria. Research published in...
Feds to reconsider critical habitat for 2 fish
(AP) -- A federal judge has ruled the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can reconsider the critical habitat designation of two threatened fish species in New Mexico and Arizona...
Nano-boxes from DNA origami
Danish researchers have made a nano-sized box out of DNA that can be opened and closed in response to ‘key’ molecules
Carole C. Noon, 59, Dies; Founded Save the Chimps
Dr. Noon was a primatologist whose passion — and compassion — for her subjects led to her founding an organization that provides the world’s largest sanctuary for captive chimpanzee.
Britain to remove some DNA profiles from database
LONDON (AP) -- The British government said Thursday it will set up a system to remove details about the DNA of innocent people from its nationwide...
Where Tumor Cells Boldly Go: Cancer Biologists Shed Light On The Metastatic Niche
A team of cancer researchers is focusing on a new model of the disease: the permissive microenvironment, or the metastatic niche, that forms in particular tissues located far from the...
Gel-Based Glue Fastens Snails To Wet Surfaces, Model For Surgical Adhesive
A species of slug produces a defensive gel it can chemically convert into a remarkably strong glue. Similar gel-based glues attach some snails firmly onto slippery rocks; tools are needed...