Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Study Challenges Notions Of How Genes Are Controlled In Mammals
Scientists have probed further into the human genome than ever before. They have discovered how genes are controlled in mammals, as well as the tiniest genetic element ever found.
New hope for treatment of neurodegenerative disorder
Researchers from the University of Southern California have taken an important first step toward protecting against Huntington disease using gene therapy...
The Embryonic Debate
Over the past decade or so, seeking federal funding for embryonic stem cell research has been a little like slamming one’s head into a brick wall. Funding was banned all...
Disruption Of Copper Regulation As Key To Prion Diseases
An investigation of a rare, inherited form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease suggests that disrupted regulation of copper ions in the brain may be a key factor in this and other prion...
First Technique For Producing Promising Anti-leukemia Agent Developed
Kapakahines, marine-derived natural products isolated from a South Pacific sponge in trace quantities, have shown anti-leukemia potential, but studies have been all but stalled by kapakahines' lack of availability.
Herbal Extract Inhibits Development Of Pancreatic Cancer
An herb recently found to kill pancreatic cancer cells also appears to inhibit development of pancreatic cancer as a result of its anti-inflammatory properties, according to new research.
A novel method of isolating high quality RNA from Kupffer cells
Kupffer cells, resident tissue macrophages that line the liver sinusoids, play a key role in modulating inflammation in a number of experimental models of liver injury. Since Kupffer cells represent...
Genetic switch potential key to new class of antibiotics
Researchers have determined the structure of a key genetic mechanism at work in bacteria, including some that are deadly to humans, in an important step toward the design of a...
Researchers Fire The Starting Gun For The Great Turtle Race
Leatherbacks are the largest turtles on Earth with evolutionary roots that go back more than 100 million years. But their numbers, particularly in the Pacific, are declining at an alarming...
New Way To Distinguish Cancerous From Normal Cells
Researchers have discovered a previously unknown feature that distinguishes cancer from normal cells: the difference in cell surface properties.
"Silent" heart attacks more common than thought
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A study using new imaging technology found "silent" heart attacks may be far more common, and more deadly, than suspected, U.S. researchers said Friday.
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....
A, T, G, C and What?
Turns out life has more essential building blocks to play with than previously thought: researchers at Rockefeller University have discovered a new nucleotide in the mammalian DNA code. Remember good...
Chameleon-like camouflage: 'Nano-camo' for fashionistas and environmentalists
(PhysOrg.com) -- Certain fish species blend with their environment by changing color. Sandia National Laboratories researchers have demonstrated that, in theory, they could cause synthetic materials to change color...
Fishy fight-or-flight response may hold answers to human nerve damage
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Alberta are looking to the tiny zebrafish for a way to regenerate damaged nerve cells in people.
Researchers find possible way to block the spread of deadly brain tumors
Researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) may have found a way to stop the often-rapid spread of deadly brain tumors.
NSF Funds Study of Enzyme Pathways for Possible Cures of Infectious Disease
An Auburn University professor has received a $424,000 National Science Foundation grant for research in the fight against infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and anthrax, as well as staph...
To sun, or not to sun?
You ditched the baby oil with iodine ions ago, but you still have some burning questions about less-obvious sun no-no's. Now that spring is here and everyone's exposure time is...
Virus 'wiping out Bhutan's oranges'
A virus spread by a small fly is threatening orange crops in Bhutan, and the country's national plant protection centre is taking action.
Key Decision-point At Which Cells With Broken DNA Repair Themselves Or Die Identified
Cells that undergo potentially catastrophic damage must make a decision: either to fix the damage or program themselves for death, a process called apoptosis. Scientists have found that the protein...
New Insight Into An Old Reaction: Adenylylation Regulates Cell Signaling
A new study reveals the importance of adenylylation in the regulation of cell signaling from bacteria to higher organisms. The research provides new insight into bacterial pathogenesis and opens intriguing...
New Method For Detection Of Phosphoproteins Reveals Regulator Of Melanoma Invasion
Scientists have developed a new approach for surveying phosphorylation, a process that is regulated by critical cell signaling pathways and regulates several key cellular signaling events. The research describes the...
New Technique Invented To Reveal Pancreatic Stem Cells
Wanted: stems cells. Just like those absconders chased by police all over the world, everybody can tell about their good deeds but none really knows how to recognize them. Now,...
Caffeine Appears To Be Beneficial In Males, But Not Females, With Lou Gehrig's Disease
Lou Gehrig's disease is believed to involve an interplay between genetic predisposition and environmental factors. One environmental factor is diet. With oxidative stress (which damages the cells) a common concern...
Computational Model Examines The Pathways Of Alzheimer's That Strikes At The Young
Familial Alzheimer's disease strikes individuals as early as their 20s. Researchers have constructed a simple computational model (series of equations) to measure whether certain variables -- genetic mutations in proteins...
A photographer's journey
National Geographic photographer Mattias Klum has travelled the world capturing some of its most fragile environments and threatened species
Computers 'Trained' To Analyze Fruit-fly Behavior
Scientists have trained computers to automatically analyze aggression and courtship in fruit flies, opening the way for researchers to perform large-scale, high-throughput screens for genes that control these innate behaviors....
Readers Pick: Top 10 Alternative Energy Bets
We polled LiveScience readers, and here are the Top 10 choices.