Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Bitter-tasting Nectar And Floral Odors Optimize Outcrossing For Plants
Experiments with genetically modified plants reveal new aspects on the biochemistry of flowers. Scientists have discovered how the chemistry of nectar and floral scents enforces good pollinator behavior, enabling plants...
New Giant Clam Species Offers Window Into Human Past
Researchers report the discovery of the first new living species of giant clam in two decades.
Rapid Changes In Key Alzheimer's Protein Described In Humans
For the first time, researchers have described hour-by-hour changes in the amount of amyloid beta, a protein that is believed to play a key role in Alzheimer's disease, in the...
Unexpected Large Monkey Population Discovered In Cambodia: Tens Of Thousands Of Threatened Primates
Biologists have discovered surprisingly large populations of two globally threatened primates in a protected area in Cambodia. The report counted 42,000 black-shanked douc langurs along with 2,500 yellow-cheeked crested gibbons...
Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary In Fair Condition, Facing Emerging Threats
A new NOAA report on the health of Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary indicates that the overall condition of the sanctuary's marine life and habitats is fair. The report also...
Amazon rainforest: Explorer maps out complex lost civilisations of the Amazon
Settlements thought to date back at least 1,500 years and described by authors as 'garden cities'
Grown skin to reduce animal testing
Australian researchers are growing skin equivalents that reduce the need for animal testing, as skin equivalents used overseas can't be imported.
Proteins Have Controlled Motions, Researcher Shows
Iowa State University researcher Robert Jernigan believes that his research shows proteins have controlled motions. Most biochemists traditionally believe proteins have many random, uncontrolled movements.
Low Levels Of Brain Chemical May Lead To Obesity
A brain chemical that plays a role in long term memory also appears to be involved in regulating how much people eat and their likelihood of becoming obese, according to...
EPA sued for info honeybee deaths
WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- The Natural Resources Defense Council alleges the pesticide clothianidin is responsible for mysterious deaths in U.S. honey bee colonies.
New parasite wasp species found
A new species of wasp which feed on and grow inside maggots is discovered after one hatched on a scientist's desk.
Fly's brain 'senses swat threat'
Researchers in the US say they have solved the mystery of why flies are so hard to swat.
Population Bomb Author's Fix For Next Extinction: Educate Women
It’s an uncomfortable thought: Human activity causing the extinction of thousands of species, and the only way to slow or prevent that phenomenon is to have smaller families and forego...
Bigfoot Press Conference Yields Little Evidence, Lots of Scorn
PALO ALTO, CALIF.--It was perhaps the most highly touted press conference of the week, but it didn't reveal much in the way of evidence: Three bigfoot enthusiasts announced today that...
Using a Poison to Turn Sunlight into Food
Arsenic, a deadly poison, kills by blocking the ability of cells to produce and consume energy. Yet, some red and green slime mats in briny hot springs in Mono Lake,...
Like the Taste of Chalk? You're in Luck--Humans May Be Able to Taste Calcium
Mice, and most likely humans, have the ability to taste calcium--and most do not like it, according to new research presented today at the American Chemical Society's semiannual national meeting,...
Video: Giant panda birth
Tan Tan, a giant panda at Kobe's Oji zoo in Japan, has a new cub. It is the first baby panda in 20 years to be born in Japan as...
Researchers provide solution to world's worst mass poisoning case
A solution to the world's worst case of ongoing mass poisoning, linked to rising cancer rates in Southern Asia, has been developed by researchers from Queen's University Belfast.
Vines prove Lisa Simpson wrong
Research has found that 92 per cent of vines twist anti-clockwise, regardless of hemisphere, proving Lisa Simpson's Coriolis effect theory doesn't apply to plants.
Chemist Conjured Exciting Experiment at Age 10
When I was about 10 years old, I mixed some old paint, water, and every possible liquid I found in my dad's workshop in an old wine bottle.
How The Brain Compensates For Vision Loss Shows Much More Versatility Than Previously Recognized
New insights into how the brain compensates for loss of sight suggests the brain is more adaptable than previously recognized.
Profiling Protective Proteins In Dairy Cows
Agricultural Research Service molecular biologist John Lippolis is delving into the dynamics of the dairy cow immune system. His work is resulting in the first close-up look at how immune...
Nonviable Seeds May Contain Research-Quality DNA
Agricultural Research Service scientists have ways of making seeds talk. They have demonstrated that seeds can reveal genetic information even after they've lost viability, which is the ability to germinate....
Genetic Underpinnings Of Sheep Traits May Yield Clues To Greater Productivity
Keeping America's sheep healthy and productive while expanding the market for wool and lamb is the goal of scientists who are matching the animals' physical traits to the genes that...
Genetic Link to Dry Macular Degeneration Found
A University of Kentucky ophthalmologist, along with a team of scientists, has discovered a genetic mutation that offers protection against a type of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease of...
Death and life beneath the sea floor
Viral action identified as key component in carbon cycle.
Gold mines could save cockatoos
New research on the feeding patterns of black cockatoos could allow gold mines to plan their revegetation strategies in a way that could help save the endangered birds.
More Australians surviving cancer
More Australians are surviving cancer today than 20 years ago, although improvements have been greatest for advantaged population groups, a study has found.