Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Oil Palm Plantations Are No Substitute For Tropical Rainforests, New Study Shows
The continued expansion of oil palm plantations will worsen the dual environmental crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, unless rainforests are better protected, warn scientists in the most comprehensive...
THE ROUNDUP: Science and Nature News Around the Web
Oceans "too noisy" for whales; Mars dust devils seen; and more.
TGen investigators devise faster, cheaper way of analyzing the human genome
Investigators at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) today announced a faster and less expensive way for scientists to find which genes might affect human health.
Study reveals how viruses collectively decide the fate of a bacterial cell
A new study suggests that bacteria-infecting viruses – called phages – can make collective decisions about whether to kill host cells immediately after infection or enter a latent state to...
How Memories Are Made, And Recalled
What makes a memory? Single cells in the brain, for one thing. For the first time, scientists have recorded individual brain cells in the act of calling up a memory,...
Turn It Off To Turn It On: Neuroscientists Discover Critical Early Step Of Memory Formation
Researchers have found how nerve cells in the brain ensure that Arc, a protein critical for memory formation, is made instantly after nerve stimulation. Paradoxically, its manufacture involves two other...
Kidney disease gene variants found
BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. medical scientists say they have discovered gene variants that account for kidney diseases among African-Americans.
Photos Reveal Myanmar's Large And Small Predators
Using remote camera traps to lift the veil on Myanmar's dense northern wild lands, researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society have painstakingly gathered a bank of valuable data on the...
Zebra Finches Vary Immune Response According To Age, Sex And Costs
Individual zebra finches vary their immune response to balance the costs, depending on sex, age and the environment. When changing from nest-bound juveniles to adults, female immune responses matured slowly...
Gap Junction Protein Vital To Successful Pregnancy, Researchers Find
Researchers studying a critical stage of pregnancy -- implantation of the embryo in the uterus -- have found a protein that is vital to the growth of new blood vessels...
Some frozen salmon recalled in Canada
OTTAWA, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced the recall of Private Recipe-brand frozen creamed salmon entree because of possible bacterial contamination.
New Method Identifies Meth Hot Spots
A new method of combining multiple sources of data to identify counties in Oregon with high numbers of methamphetamine-related problems per capita, giving officials a new tool in fighting the...
Prosthetic Vein Valve Designed To Improve Blood Flow
Engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a prosthetic vein valve to help improve the lives of those suffering from a condition known as chronic venous insufficiency. The...
Ship-induced Waves Affect Snails, Crabs And Insect Larvae In Sandy Lakes And Rivers
Snails, crabs, insect larvae - the shores of rivers and lakes are populated by thousands of small animals that play an important role in the food chain of the freshwater...
Laminin builds the neuromuscular synapse
Like a plug and a socket, a nerve and a muscle fiber mesh at the neuromuscular junction. New work by Nishimune et al published in the Journal of Cell Biology...
Many captive tigers are of purebred ancestry; finding raises their conservation value
Tigers held in captivity around the world—including those in zoos, circuses, and private homes—may hold considerable conservation value for the rapidly dwindling wild populations around the world, according to a...
Female mice can identify inbred males by their scent
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found that female mice avoid mating with inbred males by ‘sensing’ the diversity of a protein type in their urine.
Pathogen virulence proteins suppress plant immunity
Blacksburg, Va. – Researchers from the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech and their colleagues have identified a key function of a large family of virulence proteins that play...
Mutation in human gene helps protect against fatal malaria
New research suggests that not everyone who is bitten by a malaria-infected mosquito develops life threatening health problems according to scientists at the University of Toronto.
Lizard hunting styles impact ability to walk, run
Scientists studied lizard walking and running mechanics on a race track with a built-in force plate. The technique lizards use to grab their grub influences how they move, according...
Fire ants invade Norfolk, Va.
NORFOLK, Va., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Fire ants have infested several parts of Virginia's South Hampton Roads, the state Department of Agriculture said.
Japanese-born giant panda has twins
A giant panda born and raised in western Japan has given birth to two cubs, a zoo official said Sunday.
Scientists race to crack the potato's genetic code
LIMA (Reuters) - Scientists around the world have teamed up to sequence the genome of the potato, hoping to crack the genetic code of one of the world's most important...
Site Lines: It's time for rumblin', stumblin' in college football
Normally, The Sacramento Bee's Sports department is nothing like those "This is SportsCenter" commercials. It's more laid-back and the celebrities rarely file through.
More active, emotionally stable people live longer, study finds
The secret to a long life is actually pretty simple, according to recent research from the National Institute on Aging.
Greenland seeks whaling breakaway
Greenland is trying to withdraw its whale hunt from International Whaling Commission jurisdiction.
Humanists sue as exam agency blocks GCSE
Philip Pullman and AC Grayling back move to give humanism equal footing with organised-religions
Editorial: Libel battles can make and break reputations, but only rarely do they bear on questions of life and death
Editorial: Libel battles can make and break reputations, but only rarely do they bear on questions of life and death