Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Study: Sabertooth cats were social animals
LONDON, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- British and U.S. scientists say they've determined the extinct sabertooth cat was likely a social animal, living and hunting much like today's lions.
Study looks at how corn genes are silenced
NEWARK, Del., Nov. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. plant scientists say they've identified unusual differences in the natural mechanisms that turn off or "silence" genes in corn.
Dramatic Fall In Malaria In Gambia Raises Possibility Of Elimination In Parts Of Africa
The incidence of malaria has fallen significantly in Gambia in the last 5 years, according to a study carried out by experts there with support from scientists based in London.
Friend Or Foe? How The Body's Clot-busting System Speeds Up Atherosclerosis
Scientists have been puzzled by the fact that high levels of plasmin in blood and high levels of urokinase in artery walls are linked to high risk for rapid progression...
Transplantation: 'Molecular Miscegenation' Blurs The Boundary Between Self And Non-self
A new discovery by London biologists may yield new ways of handling transplant rejection. Scientists confirm the two-way transfer of a molecule that instructs the immune system to tell "self"...
Biologists Discover Motor Protein That Rewinds DNA
Biologists have discovered the first of a new class of cellular motor proteins that "rewind" sections of the double-stranded DNA molecule that become unwound, like the tangled ribbons from a...
New Mouse Mutant Contains Clue To Progressive Hearing Loss
Researchers have defined a mutation in the mouse genome that mimics progressive hearing loss in humans. Scientists have found that mice carrying a mutation called Oblivion displayed problems with the...
Die-off of bats is linked to new fungus
Researchers don't know whether mass deaths of bats in the Northeast is caused by the fungus, but it is present in the dead animals. The common name for the affliction...
Scientists identify machinery that helps make memories
A major puzzle for neurobiologists is how the brain can modify one microscopic connection, or synapse, at a time in a brain cell and not affect the thousands of other...
By Imaging Live Cells, Researchers Show How Hepatitis C Replicates
The hepatitis C virus is a prolific replicator, able to produce up to a trillion particles per day in an infected person by hijacking liver cells in which to build...
New process increases stem cell potential
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Stem cells greatly improve their therapeutic effectiveness in replacing damaged tissue when a molecule is added to their surface, U.S. researchers said...
Type 1 diabetes not so much bad genes as good genes behaving badly
Investigators combing the genome in the hope of finding genetic variants responsible for triggering early-onset diabetes may be looking in the wrong place, new research at the Stanford University School...
Studies of small water fleas help ecologists understand population dynamics
A study of populations of tiny water fleas is helping ecologists to understand population dynamics, which may lead to predictions about the ecological consequences of environmental change...
Oral Rinses Used For Tracking HPV-positive Head And Neck Cancers Holds Promise For Cancer Screening
A new study validates a non-invasive screening method with future potential for detection of human papillomavirus-positive head and neck cancers.
Personal odour may someday be used to identify individuals
Reporting in the 31 October issue of the online journal PLoS ONE, scientists from the Monell Centre present behavioural and chemical findings to reveal that an individual's underlying odour signature...
Researchers characterize potential protein targets for malaria vaccine
Researchers from Nijmegen and Leiden have now characterized a large number of parasite proteins that may prove useful in the development of a human malaria vaccine. Details are published...
Upsurge of West Nile virus linked to foreclosures, study finds
Scientists say cases soared in Bakersfield last year largely because of mosquitoes breeding in abandoned swimming pools. ...
Key Mechanism Behind Cancer Spread Is Explained
Scientists have discovered the two key processes that allow cancer cells to change the way they move in order to spread through the body, according to a new study.
Study: Women Candidates Need To Look Good
Women running for top offices need to appear competent and attractive, according to a new study. For male candidates, seeming competent may be enough.
Giant bat makes comeback in Tanzania
OSLO (Reuters) - A giant bat with a wingspan up to 5.5 feet has made a comeback from the brink of extinction in Tanzania in a rare conservation success, an...
Plant virus spreads by making life easy for crop pests
(PhysOrg.com) -- In 752, Japanese Empress Koken wrote a short poem about the summertime yellowing of a field in what is thought to be the first account of a viral...
PHOTOS: Best Wild Animal Photos of 2008 Announced
An ultra-rare cat, a snake-frog death match, and a whale close encounter are among the winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
What's Causing Bats to Drop Like Flies?
People near Albany, N.Y., began noticing the strange bat behavior at least two years ago: Droves of the normally nocturnal mammals were seen flying around on brisk winter days when...
Too much of a good thing: Cells with extra chromosomes share detrimental traits
(PhysOrg.com) -- Mammalian cells with extra chromosomes share some common traits that could be exploited to develop cancer treatments, according to MIT biologists.
Protein found that controls muscle growth
KINGSVILLE, Texas, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- U.S. and German researchers say they've found a protein called serum response factor, or SRF, is essential for all muscle development, including...
Reducing roads could boost bear population
Alberta's scant grizzly bear population could grow by up to five per cent a year if fewer logging roads are built in the animals' habitat, according to University of Alberta...
Without glial cells, animals lose their senses worms
Sensory neurones have always put on a good show. But now, it turns out, they'll be sharing the credit. In groundbreaking research to appear in the 31 October issue of...
Researchers employ egg beater in disease diagnosis
Researchers have shown that a modified egg beater can be used to separate plasma from whole blood for testing in developing countries.