Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Causative gene of a rare disorder discovered by sequencing only protein-coding regions of genome
For the first time, scientists have successfully used a method called exome sequencing to quickly discover a previously unknown gene responsible for a mendelian disorder...
First reconstitution of an epidermis from human embryonic stem cells
Stem cell research is making great strides. This is yet again illustrated by a study carried out by the I-STEM* Institute (I-STEM/ Inserm UEVE U861/AFM), published in the Lancet on...
Cosmic Log: Big pictures of tiny wonders
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Who would have thought that water fleas, diseased neurons and poisoned algae could look so beautiful? It's just a matter of perspective. ...
Studies suggest males have more personality
Males have more pronounced personalities than females across a range of species – from humans to house sparrows – according to new research. Consistent personality traits, such as aggression and...
Is 80-year-old mistake leading to first species to be fished to extinction?
A species of common skate is to become the first marine fish species to be driven to extinction by commercial fishing, due to an error of species classification 80 years...
Oscar Pistorius' artificial limbs give him clear, major advantage for sprint running
The artificial lower limbs of double-amputee Olympic hopeful Oscar Pistorius give him a clear and major advantage over his competition, taking 10 seconds or more off what his 400-meter race...
Pushing the brain to find new pathways
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Until recently, scientists believed that, following a stroke, a patient had about six months to regain any lost function. After that, patients would be forced to...
When Glass Develops Into A Shell: New Findings In Diatoms
Diatoms are microalgae that are responsible for nearly a quarter of the oxygen we breathe, but how does their glass-like skeleton develop? Researchers have solved part of the mystery concerning...
Decline In Russian Tigers Renews Calls To End All Trade In Tiger Parts
A shocking decline in the Russian Federation's wild tiger population highlights the importance of eliminating trade in and demand for tiger parts, the International Tiger Coalition has said. Research shows...
Notes and queries: the origins of the bonfire; is the human body an efficient machine?
Origins of the bonfire; beware the garden rabbit menace; is the human body an efficient machine?Why is it a "bonfire" rather than "fire"?Just as some religious festivals were grafted on to existing calendar...
Magnetic Nanotags Spot Cancer in Mice Earlier Than Current Methods
(PhysOrg.com) -- Searching for biomarkers that can warn of diseases such as cancer while they are still in their earliest stage is likely to become far easier thanks to an...
Duke researchers find explanation for rapid maturation of neurons at birth
At the moment a newborn switches from amniotic fluid to breathing air, another profound shift occurs: nerve cells in the brain convert from hyperexcitability to a calm frame against...
Night beat, overtime and a disrupted sleep pattern can harm officers' health
A police officer who works the night shift, typically from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., already is at a disadvantage when it comes to getting a good "night's" sleep.
Picture - Bacteria Talking - In Color
Bacteria are abundant in soil, water, and air as well as in the depths of the Earth's crust, organic matter, and live animals or plants. They are also abundantly social -- among themselves and with...
Strange worms discovered eating dead whales
Some strange creatures can be found on the ocean seafloor, and boneworms are among the most bizarre — they have no eyes or mouth and feast on the bones of...
Penguin DNA evolving faster than thought
Comparing the DNA in modern birds to that in ancient generations shows molecular evolution can happen at varying rates
Petascale computing tools could provide deeper insight into genomic evolution
Technological advances in high-throughput DNA sequencing have opened up the possibility of determining how living things are related by analyzing the ways in which their genes have been rearranged on...
In Amazon, a frustrated search for cancer cures
SAO SEBASTIAO DE CUIEIRAS, Brazil (Reuters) - The task of harvesting the secrets of Brazil's vast Amazon rain forest that could help in the battle against cancer largely falls to...
Spotting evidence of directed percolation
A team of physicists has, for the first time, seen convincing experimental evidence for directed percolation, a phenomenon that turns up in computer models of the ways diseases spread through...
Ladybugs taken hostage by wasps
Are ladybugs being overtaken by wasps? A Université de Montréal entomologist is investigating a type of wasp (Dinocampus coccinellae) present in Quebec that forces ladybugs (Coccinella maculata) to carry their...
Fish Kill: Nanosilver Mutates Fish Embryos
Smaller than a virus and used in more than 200 consumer products, silver nanoparticles can kill and mutate fish embryos, new research shows.Tiny particles of silver – potent...
Dog fleas implicated in leishmaniasis spread
Fleas may transmit leishmaniasis to dogs, maintaining a reservoir of disease that could then infect humans.
On your last nerve: NC State researchers advance understanding of stem cells
Researchers from North Carolina State University have identified a gene that tells embryonic stem cells in the brain when to stop producing nerve cells called neurons. The research is a...
Cross-country runabouts -- immune cells on the move
Scientists from the Max Planck Institute (MPI) of Biochemistry in Martinsried near Munich, Germany, have now deciphered the mechanism that illustrates how these mobile cells move on diverse surfaces. "Similar...
Today's Top Athletes: Human or Android?
Athletes are becoming more android-like through physical, biological and chemical enhancements.
Solving the 50-year-old puzzle of thalidomide
Research into the controversial drug thalidomide reveals that the mechanism through which the drug causes limb defects is the same process which causes it to damage internal organs and other...
New view of blood vessel inhibition ID'd
UPPSALA, Sweden, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- A team of Swedish-led scientists says it has identified a new mechanism by which a specific protein in the body inhibits formation of...
Australian marsupial soaks up sun like a lizard
A small Australian marsupial is taking a lesson from the reptile world and basking in the sun to conserve energy and improve its chances of survival, a researcher has found.