Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Scientists make herbicide-resistant plants
MINNEAPOLIS, May 5 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've developed a technique for modifying plant genes that could help provide sustainable food, fuel and fiber supplies.
Stanford scientists turn adult skin cells into muscle and vice versa
In a study featured on the cover of the May issue of The FASEB Journal, researchers describe how they are able to reprogram human adult skin cells into other cell...
Some vocal-mimicking animals, particularly parrots, can move to a musical beat
Researchers at Harvard University have found that humans aren't the only ones who can groove to a beat - some other species can dance, too. This capability was previously believed...
Study validates means to measure possible leukaemia marker
A study led by cancer researchers at The Ohio State University has validated a method for reliably measuring variations in certain proteins that may make good biomarkers in chronic leukaemia...
Potentially Harmful Chemicals Found In Forest Fire Smoke
Researchers have detected common plant toxins that affect human health and ecosystems in smoke from forest fires. The results from the new study also suggest that smoldering fires may produce...
Soft tissue from a dino fossil
Hadrosaur remains include fragments of several proteins, tests suggest
Recycler protein helps prevent disease
Recycling is important not only on a global scale, but also at the cellular level, since key molecules tend to be available in limited numbers. This means a cell needs...
NASA's electronic nose may provide neurosurgeons with a new weapon against brain cancer
An unlikely multidisciplinary scientific collaboration has discovered that an electronic nose developed for air quality monitoring on Space Shuttle Endeavour can also be used to detect odour differences in normal...
Study fuels debate about why female birds seek extra mates
When female birds mate with males other than their social partners and have broods of mixed paternity, the offspring sired by these 'extra-pair' fathers may often get a head start...
New layer of control over human embryonic stem cells found
Researchers have discovered an added layer of complexity in the network that determines human embryonic stem cell fate. A report publishing online 30th April in the journal Cell, a Cell...
The two brown bear populations in Spain have been isolated for the past 50 years
The situation of bears in the Iberian Peninsula is critical. Researchers from the University of Oviedo (UO) and the Superior Council of Scientific Research (SCSR) have performed a genetic identification...
Africa's genetic secrets unlocked
A decade-long genetic study reveals Africa's huge diversity, linking culture, language and genes for the first time.
Bones Made From Human Skin Connective Tissue
Cartilage, bones and the internal walls of blood vessels can be created by using common connective tissue cells from human skin. Researchers in reconstructive plastic surgery have successfully manipulated these...
Birds Can Dance, Experts (and Zany Videos) Reveal
His tastes may be sooo ten years ago, but the Backstreet Boys' smallest fan has helped scientists make an all-new discovery: Birds can dance. With videos.
Playing Dead Increases Survival Rate at the Expense of Active Neighbors
A study published in the Proceeding of The Royal Society B entitled "Tonically Immobilized Selfish Prey Can Survive By Sacrificing Other", authored by researchers at Okayama University in Japan point...
First Large-scale Computer Simulation Of Gene Therapy
Scientists have completed the first comprehensive, molecular-level numerical study of gene therapy. Their work should help other scientists design new experimental gene therapies and possibly solve some of the problems...
U.S. Shorts Critical Farm Animal Research, Scientists Say
Dwindling federal funding jeopardizes important animal and biomedical research, together with the institutional research programs that focus on them, a group of scientists warn.
Tourists help save whale sharks
he number of endangered whale sharks is steady, and may even be increasing, according to a revolutionary study by both scientists and the general public.
Shy therapy tweaks successful
A recent study tried a slightly modified version of the treatment for extreme shyness, with great success.
Darwin in a test tube
As described in an article published this week in an advance, online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the work demonstrates some of the...
UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News
Study: Fish may feel pain much like humans … Re-awakened old genes help fight HIV … Study shows cooling lengthens tool's life … Genetic marker may ID head, throat cancer...
New weapon fights hepatitis C
Experimental drug clears hurdle on its way to joining standard drug combinations
New sequencing technique to prod medical benefits from killer venom
Any given venom can contain hundreds of toxins with different functions, but teasing them out of a venom sample is no mean feat. Researchers at Rockefeller University have developed a...
10 Deadly Diseases That Hopped Across Species
A host of infectious and deadly diseases have hopped from animals to humans, and the other way.
UW-Madison sequencing effort to chart ants and their ecosystem
Nestled within the twisting fungus gardens of leaf-cutter ants exists a complex symbiotic web that has evolved over millions of years. Now, with the help of a major genomic sequencing...
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...
FOR KIDS: Life trapped under a glacier
At Antarctica’s Blood Falls, scientists study microbes living in a dark and salty home
New DNA coding to track mosquitoes, fight disease
OSLO (Reuters) - A novel genetic technology will be used in Africa to track mosquitoes that can spread a disease disfiguring millions of people with often grotesque swellings, scientists said...