Sea Urchins' Digging Teeth are Designed to Stay Sharp

Sea urchins dig themselves hiding holes in the limestone of the ocean floor using teeth that don't go blunt. Weizmann Institute scientists have now revealed their secrets, which might give...

"Elegant" Robot Hand Grasps Eggs With a Light Touch

Dexterous enough to grasp a heavy can of food or a raw egg, the unique, air-powered machine may someday be used in prosthetics or other scientific research. With video.

New method of gene therapy is developed

FLANDERS, Belgium, May 5 (UPI) -- Flemish scientists say they have developed an improved and safer technique to deliver genes into the body's cells during genetic therapy.

Stopgap DNA repair needs a second step

One can have a dream, two can make that dream so real, goes a popular song. Now a Weizmann Institute study has revealed that it takes two to perform an...

Deadly fungus shuts bat caves

Researchers surprised by similar structures in Sanfilippo syndrome and Alzheimer's disease

Researchers seeking to understand the causes of a rare genetic lysosomal storage disease, Sanfilippo syndrome type B, were surprised to find protein aggregates, known as neurofibrillary tangles, that are usually...

Tree survival skills

Consider the cumulative stresses that transplanted trees must endure from the time they are harvested until they become established in a landscape. Multiple stress factors can mean the difference between...

Satellite Technology Helps Canada Patrol Waterways

Canada is using satellite technology to track illegal fishing.

Why Are Humans Always So Sick?

Super-hygiene, sedentary lifestyles, and a lack of worms all contribute to modern ills.

Swine flu goes person-to-pig; What's next?

(AP) -- Now that the swine flu virus has passed from a farmworker to pigs, could it jump back to people? The question is important, because crossing species again...

MDC scientists: Optimised tool for gene delivery

Scientists from the Max Delbrueck Centre for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany have succeeded in generating a hyperactive 'jumping gene' (a transposon) and hope to have an improved tool for...

Key Function In Protein, Cell Transcription Identified

Researchers have figured out a mechanism involved in marking where assembly instructions are located in a cell's DNA.

DNA Barcoding Of Mosquito Species Deployed In Bid To End Elephantiasis

Researchers are pioneering the use of DNA "barcodes" to map menacing mosquito species in West Africa that spread lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis. The ability to precisely identify mosquito...

Biologists find birdsong of isolates reverts to norm over several generations (w/Audio)

In an experiment that points to a role for genetics in the development of culture, biologists at The City College of New York (CCNY) and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL)...

Neuroscientists discover long-term potentiation in the olfactory bulb

Ben W. Strowbridge, Ph.D, associate professor of Neuroscience and Physiology/Biophysics, and Yuan Gao, a Ph.D. student in the neurosciences program at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, are the...

Small Molecules Might Block Mutant Protein Production In Huntington's Disease

Molecules that selectively interfere with protein production can stop human cells from making the abnormal molecules that cause Huntington's disease.

What Regulates MicroRNAs? When Cells Reach Out And Touch

MicroRNAs are single-stranded snippets that, not long ago, were given short shrift as genetic junk. Now that studies have shown they regulate genes involved in normal functioning as well as...

Aussie termites dig up gold

Researchers have found that Australian termites build up useful samples while building their mounds - helpful for prospecting.

Cave Activity Discouraged To Help Protect Bats From Deadly White-nose Syndrome

White-nose syndrome, a wildlife crisis of unprecedented proportions, has killed hundreds of thousands of bats from Vermont to West Virginia and continues unchecked. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service...

Risk of autism tied to genes that influence brain cell connections

In three studies, including the most comprehensive study of autism genetics to date, investigators funded in part by the National Institutes of Health have identified common and rare genetic factors...

Drugs needed to preserve eggs for reproduction need to be given in stages

Cryoprotectants needed to preserve eggs for reproduction need to be given in stages, albeit rapid ones, say scientists who have developed a mathematical model that predicts optimal time for loading...

PER:PER protein pair required for circadian clock function

Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London have discovered a new protein complex operating in fruit fly circadian clocks, which may also help to regulate our own biological clocks...

Purdue study finds dairy better for bones than calcium carbonate

A Purdue University study shows dairy has an advantage over calcium carbonate in promoting bone growth and strength...

Scientists to Resurrect Ancient Gene to Replay Evolution

Aim is to resurrect a single gene from an extinct species of bacteria.

'Evolutionary Algorithms' Mimic Natural Evolution In Silico And Lead To Innovative Solutions For Complex Problems

Constantly "re-rolling the dice", combining and selecting: "Evolutionary algorithms" mimic natural evolution in silico and lead to innovative solutions for complex problems.

Why Invasive Plants Take Over

New research shows that two key causes of plant invasion -- escape from natural enemies, and increases in plant resources -- act in concert. This result helps to explain the...

Date Palm Genome Drafted

Researchers have mapped a draft version of the date palm genome, unlocking many of its genetic secrets.

Glaring Rocket Launch Could Surprise East Coast Residents Tuesday Evening

A potentially spectacular sight might be visible across a wide swath of the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.