Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Genetic analysis predicts whether liver cancer likely to recur
Researchers are poised to unlock the genetic secrets stored in hundreds of thousands of cancer biopsy samples locked in long-term storage and previously thought to be useless for modern genetic...
Scientists propose the creation of a new type of seed bank
While an international seed bank in a Norwegian island has been gathering news about its agricultural collection, a group of U.S. scientists has just published an article outlining a different...
Diatom genome helps explain success in trapping excess carbon in oceans
Diatoms, mighty microscopic algae, have profound influence on climate, producing 20 percent of the oxygen we breathe by capturing atmospheric carbon and in so doing, countering the greenhouse effect. ...
New hope for the red squirrel
A number of red squirrels are immune to squirrelpox viral disease, which many believed would lead to the extinction of the species, scientists have discovered.
Early-stage Gene Transcription Creates Access To DNA
An international team of researchers, probing how a yeast cell senses its cellular environment and makes decisions about whether or not to express a gene, finds the process of transcribing...
Insight On Common Heart Rhythm Disorder
Researchers have identified a gene variant that causes a potentially fatal human heart rhythm disorder called sinus node disease. While the newly discovered gene variant is rare, the study provides...
Surface Tension Drives Segregation Within Cell Mixtures
What does a mixture of two different kinds of cells have in common with a mixture of oil and water? The same basic force causes both mixtures to separate into...
Memory Improves If Neurons Are New
The birth of new neurons (neurogenesis) does not end completely during development but continues throughout all life in two areas of the adult nervous system, i.e. subventricular zone and hippocampus....
Brain-nourishing Molecule May Predict Schizophrenia Relapse
A factor that helps optimize brain formation and function may also provide clues about whether patients suffering with schizophrenia are headed toward relapse, researchers say.
Brain taught to move paralyzed muscles
WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers said monkeys can learn to move paralyzed muscles through a direct artificial connection to the brain.
Females may handle stress better
Female mice born without an anti-stress gene are less anxious than boys with the same defect, according to research that could improve the use of animal models.
Genetic 'Fingerprint' Shown To Predict Liver Cancer's Return
Scientists have reached a critical milestone in the study of liver cancer that lays the groundwork for predicting the illness's path, whether toward cure or recurrence. The findings were made...
Device helps monkeys move paralyzed wrists
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Monkeys regained the use of paralyzed wrist muscles with a computer-aided device that uses brain signals to direct movement, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
Monogamy may alter brain chemistry
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- A U.S. researcher says a study of prairie voles suggests monogamy may alter brain chemistry, resulting in depression when separated from their...
"Walking fish" reveals fresh evolutionary insights
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An extraordinary fish that existed 375 million years ago had unique features in its head that helped pave the way for vertebrate animals to live on land,...
Don't give in to ‘scareware'
Q. Recently my computer was attacked by a program named Antivirus XP 2008 that, while claiming to protect your computer, is actually a virus itself.
Rare wild salmon turns up in Rhine
BASEL, Switzerland, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- A Swiss fisherman made an unusual catch in a tributary of the Rhine River near Basel -- the first wild salmon spotted...
Monkeys move paralysed muscles with their minds
Sending brain signals through electrodes to a paralysed wrist muscle restores movement.
Reservoirs promote spread of aquatic invasive species
(PhysOrg.com) -- The latest "damming" evidence suggests that manmade reservoirs are facilitating the spread of invasive species in Wisconsin lakes.
Revealing the evolutionary history of threatened sea turtles
It's confirmed: Even though flatback turtles dine on fish, shrimp, and mollusks, they are closely related to primarily herbivorous green sea turtles. New genetic research carried out by Eugenia Naro-Maciel,...
The death of microarrays?
High-throughput gene sequencing seems to be stealing a march on microarrays. Heidi Ledford looks at a genome technology facing intense competition.
Baby Formula Contamination May Be Linked To Pet Food Contamination
A new study in Toxicological Sciences describes the kidney toxicity of melamine and cyanuric acid based on research that was done to characterize the toxicity of the compounds that contaminated...
Study finds brain chemical linked to grief
LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have pinpointed a key brain chemical involved in dealing with the sudden loss or long-term separation of a partner, they said Wednesday.
Animals on climate
Climate change is one of the greatest environmental threats facing the planet and is driving biodiversity loss, affecting both individual species and their ecosystems.
NY museum's climate change show dives into politics
NEW YORK (Reuters) - One of America's most renowned science museums dives into politics again this week with a new exhibition on climate change that curators say is an effort...
$2 egg-beater could save lives in developing countries
(PhysOrg.com) -- Plastic tubing taped to a handheld egg-beater could save lives in developing countries, the Royal Society of Chemistry`s journal Lab on a Chip reports.
Researchers expect hackers to prey on cell phones
(AP) -- Some of the most vicious Internet predators are hackers who infect thousands of PCs with special viruses and lash the machines together into "botnets" to pump out...
Thinking Anew About a Migratory Barrier: Roads
Scientists are coming to understand the marked changes brought by the roads that crisscross the landscape and the effects they have on wildlife.