Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Disease resistant bananas created
Queensland researchers have grown a genetically modified banana plant that is resistant to a deadly disease currently threatening to invade Australia.
New Way To Attack Some Forms Of Leukemia Discovered
What if a way could be found to reprogram cancerous cells back into normal cells? Researchers believes it may have found a way to do just that. Scientists discovered a...
Engineering Technique Can Identify Disease-causing Genes
Scientists believe that complex diseases such as schizophrenia, major depression and cancer are not caused by one, but a multitude of dysfunctional genes.
Ultrasound shown to exert remote control of brain circuits
In a twist on nontraditional uses of ultrasound, a group of neuroscientists at Arizona State University has developed pulsed ultrasound techniques that can remotely stimulate brain circuit activity...
Recipes for Health: Spinach Salad with Seared Shiitake Mushrooms
A salad enlivened by the intense flavor of shiitake mushrooms.
Study confirms amphibians' ability to predict changes in biodiversity
The study found that species turnover in amphibians more closely follows changes in the environment when compared to birds. Biologists have long suspected that amphibians, whose moist permeable skins make...
Scientists unveil mechanism for 'up and down' in plants
It is known for a long time that the plant hormone auxin is transmitted from the top to the bottom of a plant, and that the local concentration of auxin...
New Chemical Key Could Unlock Hundreds Of New Antibiotics
Chemistry researchers have found a novel signaling molecule that could be a key that will open up hundreds of new antibiotics unlocking them from the DNA of the Streptomyces family...
A high-fat diet could promote the development of Alzheimer's
A team of Universit?? Laval researchers has shown that the main neurological markers for Alzheimer's disease are exacerbated in the brains of mice fed a diet rich in animal fat...
Mystery of the five-legged freaks
Oddly high rates of deformation among salamanders, frogs and other amphibians have puzzled scientists in recent years. Possible causes include inbreeding, parasites or pollution that permeates the animals' skin.
How toxic environmental chemical DBT affects the immune system
An international team of researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the University of Basel in Switzerland have issued a report on the mechanism of...
Researchers apply systems biology and glycomics to study human inflammatory diseases
An innovative systems biology approach to understanding the carbohydrate structures in cells is leading to new ways to understand how inflammatory illnesses and cardiovascular disease develop in humans. The work...
MIT neuroscience bolstered by new faculty, viral core facility
A facility exploiting viruses' ability to inject DNA precisely and efficiently into brain cells and two new experts on the molecular underpinnings of the brain's ability to change in response...
DNA of good bacteria drives intestinal response to infection
A new study shows that the DNA of so-called 'good bacteria' that normally live in the intestines may help defend the body against infection. The findings, available online in the...
Tags unlock young salmon secrets
Miniature satellite tags have unlock the mysteries of the journey undertaken by juvenile salmon in the North-West US.
Mexico, US, Canada to protect endangered porpoise
(AP) -- Officials from Mexico, the United States and Canada are teaming up in a plan presented Tuesday to protect the vaquita marina, a highly endangered species of porpoise...
Observatory: Ravenous Bugs Find a Hot Spot in Trees’ Pine Cones
The western conifer seed bug uses its infrared-detecting capabilities to find food.
Mexico Pays Fishermen to Help Save a Species
The offer of payments was intended to save a small porpoise that is threatened with extinction as an unintended byproduct of commercial fishing.
Alarming New Study: World's Fish Catches are Being Wasted as Animal Feed
An alarming new study to be published in November in the Annual Review of Environment and Resources finds that one-third of the world's marine fish catches are ground up and...
The French Fruit Fly Fracas
Researchers defend olive fruit fly studies ridiculed by vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin
Researchers Discover Size Does Matter For NZ Insects
(PhysOrg.com) -- After a night on the prowl, locating a willing mate holds the promise of a private cuddle, a whole day of canoodling, and 14-15 opportunities to “make hay.”...
Suicide victims found to have altered DNA
LONDON, Ontario, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Canadian and Hungarian scientists say they've discovered DNA from suicide victims who suffered major depression shows an important chemical modification.
Les Schobert dies at 61; Los Angeles Zoo's former general curator
Les Schobert, a former general curator of the Los Angeles Zoo who advocated more open space and less isolation for elephants, chimpanzees and other animals in captivity, has died. He...
Gene against bacterial attack unravelled
Dutch researcher Joost Wiersinga from AMC Medical Center in Amsterdam has unravelled a genetic defense mechanism against the lethal bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei. The research is the next step towards a...
Snakes, Salamanders And Other Creatures Thrive In Areas With Higher Deer Populations
Reducing the number of deer in forests and parks may unexpectedly reduce the number of reptiles, amphibians and insects in that area, new research suggests. A recent study found that...
Report details threats to Inlet belugas
Declaring Cook Inlet beluga whales an endangered species - as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration did this month - was only the first step toward protecting them. Now federal...
Special Kitty-brand dry cat food recalled
WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the recall of Special Kitty-brand gourmet blend dry cat food due to potential salmonella contamination.
Oddly, American Fear Snakes More Than Disease
People are more afraid of snakes and flying than getting cancer or diabetes.