Latest science news in Biology & Nature
World-record Supercomputer Mimics Human Sight Brain Mechanisms
Less than a week after Los Alamos National Laboratory's Roadrunner supercomputer began operating at world-record petaflop-per-second data-processing speeds, Los Alamos researchers are already using the computer to mimic extremely complex...
Warming has some animals heading for hills
Global warming is forcing 30 species of reptiles and amphibians in Madagascar to move uphill as habitats shift upward, but they may soon run out of room to run.
Stem cell study explores placenta growth
GAINESVILLE, Fla., June 11 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists studying embryonic stem cells say they have explored the first fork in the developmental road -- the growth of an...
Mercury Contamination Found In Stranded Victorian Dolphins
Research by an honors student has revealed high mercury levels may be a contributing factor to dolphin deaths in Australia.
Otters Reveal Their Identity
Researchers have developed two new methods, in order to be able to better estimate the numbers of European otters (Lutra lutra) and their effects on the fish farming industry. Genetic...
Pregnancy diet can affect sheep's gender
COLUMBIA, Mo., June 10 (UPI) -- A U.S. study suggests the maternal diet of sheep can influence the chances of having male or female offspring.
VHS marine virus threatens Lake Michigan
HOUGHTON, Mich., June 10 (UPI) -- A U.S. scientist says he has developed a water treatment that might help keep a fish disease out of Lake Superior.
MicroRNA controls expression of oncogenes
A new study demonstrates that microRNAs can modulate the expression of well known tumor-specific oncogenic translocation proteins and may play a significant role in some human cancers. The research, published...
Toxic algal blooms may cause seizures in sea lions
Scientists, reporting in the current issue of the online journal Marine Drugs, state that an increase of epileptic seizures and behavioral abnormalities in California sea lions can result from low-dose...
Microbe killing Pacific Northwest oysters
OLYMPIA, Wash., June 9 (UPI) -- The Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association said a tiny microbe is killing billions of young oyster larvae in the U.S. Northwest.
New Catfish Species Named For Museum Mail Supervisor
He's not well known like President Bush and musician Neil Young, but Philadelphian Frank Gallagher now has something in common with them: He has a new species named after him....
Using Carbon Nanotubes For Molecular Transport
Molecular transport across cellular membranes is essential to many of life's processes, for example electrical signaling in nerves, muscles and synapses. In biological systems, the membranes often contain a slippery...
DNA from Scratch
DNA provides the genetic code for everything from bacteria to blue whales through combinations of just four DNA units, or bases. Now chemist Floyd Romesberg of the Scripps Research Institute...
RNA induction of an epigenetic hereditary pathology
A new study shows that microinjection of RNA molecules into mouse embryos induces a hereditary form of cardiac hypertrophy that is similar to human hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The research, published...
Rescued lions join African sanctuary
Nine cubs, an adult lion and a tiger that were rescued from bleak Romanian zoos were released Saturday into a sanctuary in South Africa that was once a notorious game...
Mixing and matching genes to keep nerve cells straight
With fewer than 30,000 human genes with which to work, Nature has to mix and match to generate the myriad types of neurons or nerve cells needed to assemble the...
Researchers band together in global battle on bacterial biofilms
The discovery that bacteria are not loners, but social creatures that congregate and chemically communicate in communities — termed biofilms — has sparked a global scientific effort to control spread...
Missing Protein In Fragile X Syndrome Is Key To Transporting Signals Within Neurons
A team of scientists has discovered new information about how Fragile X Syndrome interferes with signaling between the nucleus of neurons and the synapse, the outer reaches of the neuron...
Scientists show why cells starved of iron burn more glucose
Duke University Medical Center scientists have found a mechanism that allows cells starved of iron to shut down energy-making processes that depend on iron and use a less efficient pathway...
Stripes Key To Nanoparticle Drug Delivery
In work that could at the same time impact the delivery of drugs and explain a biological mystery, engineers have created the first synthetic nanoparticles that can penetrate a cell...
Argonne-university of Chicago Joint Venture Bolsters Genomic Sequencing Capabilities
The Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology, a joint venture of the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago, has acquired two new instruments...
Honeybees Can Learn Foreign 'Languages'
Different species of honeybees can learn to decipher other species' 'waggle dances.'
Whales stranded off Madagascar
More than 100 whales are stranded off Madagascar, as an oil company suspends surveying in the area.
Big hearts 'have genetic problem'
Scientists say they have found a new genetic basis for why some people develop a dangerously enlarged heart.
Fresh hurdle for stem cell hunt
It may be tougher than first thought to pick effective stem cell treatments, a Nobel Prize-winning geneticist says.
Cellphone Tracking Study Shows We’re Creatures of Habit
New research suggests that most people can be found in just a couple of locations at any time, and do not generally go beyond a few miles of home.
The World: Twilight for the Forest People
As the outside world closes in, there are fewer places for isolated tribes to hide.
Enzyme Plays Key Role In Cell Fate
The road to death or differentiation follows a similar course in embryonic stem cells according to new research in the journal Cell Stem Cell. Caspases, known as 'killer enzymes,' that...