Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Dolphins Maintain Round-the-clock Visual Vigilance
Even when a dolphin sleeps, half of its brain remains conscious. Knowing this, biologists wondered whether dolphins tire of keeping an eye on things. Monitoring for physical signs of sleep...
Scripps Research scientists determine workings of potentially useful virus
In a study published in May 2009 issue of PLoS Pathogens, Manchester and her colleagues show that CPMV interacts with the mammalian protein vimentin - an interaction that scientists can...
New Southern California beetle killing oaks
U.S. Forest Service scientists have completed a study on a beetle that was first detected in California in 2004, but has now attacked 67 percent of the oak trees in...
Ancestor of HIV in primates may be surprisingly young
The ancestors of the simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs) that jumped from chimpanzees and monkeys, and ignited the HIV/AIDS pandemic in humans, have been dated to just a few centuries ago....
Where tumor cells boldly go: Weill Cornell cancer biologists shed light on the metastatic niche
NEW YORK (May 1, 2009) -- Traditionally, cancer biologists have embraced a simple and direct model of the disease process: The tumor -- the "seed" -- was seen as bearing...
Virus' invasion sets off battle inside the body
Like a sleeper agent, the flu virus causes its damage from within, turning an organism's cells against itself. A single virus can hijack a healthy cell and transform it into...
Researchers test biological ways to control alfalfa pest
(PhysOrg.com) -- Cornell researchers are spending time in the fields this spring collecting 20,000 alfalfa snout beetles. They need them to test ways to biologically control the pests, which devour...
A Single Neuron Can Change the Activity of the Whole Brain
(PhysOrg.com) -- The pulsing of a single neuron can switch a brain`s waves from the equivalent of a big ocean swell to ripples on a pond, according to new research...
Robot Animals Snare U.S. Poachers
Around the country, sting operations using animal decoys are saving wildlife from being illegally killed or captured for the pet trade.
International team finds key gene that allows plants to survive drought
A team of scientists from Canada, Spain and the United States has identified a key gene that allows plants to defend themselves against environmental stresses like drought, freezing and heat...
Readers Wonder: Are Artificial Sweeteners Killing Me?
Amy wonders: "I have at least one packet of Splenda a day, usually more like 3 or 4. And their new spray Splenda goes in my iced tea, at like...
Southampton scientists race to deliver DNA swine flu test
A team of genetics experts in Southampton is working against the clock to produce the world's first DNA test for the Mexican strain of swine flu...
PHOTOS: "War Fungi" to Return to China
A rare collection of more than 2,000 species of Chinese fungi, sent to Cornell University for safekeeping after the outbreak of World War II, will soon be on its way...
Long live lipid membranes
The lifetime of lipid membranes has been extended from mere hours to three weeks thanks to work by US scientists
White tea - the solution to the obesity epidemic?
Possible anti-obesity effects of white tea have been demonstrated in a series of experiments on human fat cells (adipocytes). Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Nutrition and Metabolism...
Report shows US wildlife trade poorly regulated
Wildlife imports into the United States are fragmented and insufficiently coordinated, failing to accurately list more than four in five species entering the country, a team of scientists has found....
Decrease in sense of smell seen in lupus patients
The sense of smell is a complex process of the central nervous system that involves specific areas of the brain. In fact, olfactory dysfunction is seen in various central nervous...
Fertilisation intensifies competition for light and endangers plant diversity
When grasslands are fertilised their productivity is increased but their plant diversity is diminished. In the last 50 years levels of plant-available nitrogen and phosphorous have doubled worldwide. This additional...
Snakes and how they helped our big brains evolve
The threat of snakes gave primates superior vision and large brains -- and fueled a critical aspect of human evolution, UC Davis anthropology professor Lynne Isbell argues in a new...
Fertilisers 'reducing diversity'
Excess fertilisation reduces plant diversity, as fast growing species block some plants' access to sunlight, a study shows.
Study: Grazing threatens wildlife habitat in West
RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Conservationists say livestock grazing poses a threat to a wide variety of fish and other wildlife across more than three-fourths of their...
Chemical can reproduce complications for some patients
BETHESDA, Md. (May 1, 2009) - Medical science took a giant leap forward with the development of techniques that, at least temporarily, perform the function of vital organs.
Sewage Plants May Be Creating "Super" Bacteria
A wastewater treatment plant's job description is pretty straightforward: Remove contaminants from sewage so it can be returned to the environment without harming people or wildlife. [More]
Don't Fence Me In: Researchers Devise Bio-Boundary for African Wild Dogs
NORTHERN TULI GAME RESERVE, Botswana--The African wild dogs are about 80 feet (25 meters) away as Craig Jackson slips out of his Land Rover with a softball-size wad of tinfoil....
Virus’s Tangled Genes Straddle Continents, Raising a Mystery About Its Origins
Swine flu appears to have a combination of genes from two normally separate sets of pigs, those from the Americas and from Eurasia, scientists say.
Drought-fighting plant gene isolated
SAN DIEGO, April 30 (UPI) -- University of California researchers said Thursday they have made a key finding that could some day produce a new generation of crops...
Experts unveil African gene study
Scientists unveil what they say is the most comprehensive study ever of African genes, after a decade of work.
In Ocean's Depths, Heat-Loving 'Extremophile' Evolves a Strange Molecular Trick
(PhysOrg.com) -- Making its home near extreme temperatures of thermal vents on the ocean floor, the organism Methanopyrus kandleri harbors a molecular secret that intrigues evolutionary biologists and even HIV...