Popular Science articles about Biology & Nature

Will earlier springs throw nature out of step?

The recent trend towards earlier UK springs and summers has been accelerating, according to a study published today (9 February 2010) in the scientific journal Global Change Biology.

Method of the future uses single-cell imaging to identify gene interactions

Cellular imaging offers a wealth of data about how cells respond to stimuli, but harnessing this technique to study biological systems is a daunting challenge. In a study published...

Marker of Ewing sarcoma: Potential new drug target?

Ewing sarcoma (EWS) is a bone tumor of unknown cellular origin that affects children and young adults. The protein CD99 is highly expressed in most cases of EWS, but its...

Built-in amps: How subtle head motions, quiet sounds are reported to the brain

The phrase "perk up your ears" made more sense last year after scientists discovered how the quietest sounds are amplified in the cochlea before being transmitted to the brain.

A potent suppressor of endometrial cancer is revealed

Endometrial cancer is the most common cancer of the female reproductive tract, representing 6% of all cancers. There is currently no screening method or biomarker to indicate early presence...

Conservation from space: Landscape diversity helps to conserve insects

Rugged, hilly landscapes with a range of different habitat types can help maintain more stable butterfly populations and thus aid their conservation, according to new findings published today (8 February...

Sweet! -- sugar plays key role in cell division

Using an elaborate sleuthing system they developed to probe how cells manage their own division, Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that common but hard-to-see sugar switches are partly in control.

Road mapping could be key to curing TB

The complex chain of metabolic events in bacteria that lead to fatal diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) may be better understood using mathematical models, according to an article published in...

How the butterflies got their spots

How two butterfly species have evolved exactly the same striking wing colour and pattern has intrigued biologists since Darwin's day. Now, scientists at Cambridge have found "hotspots" in the butterflies'...

An answer to another of life's big questions

Monash University biochemists have found a critical piece in the evolutionary puzzle that explains how life on Earth evolved millions of centuries ago.

Scientists ID a protein that splices and dices genes

A novel finding, described today (Feb. 4) on the Science Express Web site by teams from the National Cancer Institute, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio...

Researchers reveal 3-D structure of bullet-shaped virus with potential to fight cancer, HIV

Vesicular stomatitis virus, or VSV, has long been a model system for studying and understanding the life cycle of negative-strand RNA viruses, which include viruses that cause influenza, measles and rabies.

Animals cope with climate change at the dinner table

Some animals, it seems, are going on a diet, while others have expanding waistlines.

Scientists identify first genetic variant linked to biological aging in humans

Scientists announced today (7 Feb) they have identified for the first time definitive variants associated with biological ageing in humans. The team analyzed more than 500,000 genetic variations across the...

Infection-fighting antibodies made in plants as effective as costlier conventional version

The first head-to-head comparison of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies produced from plants versus the same antibodies produced from mammalian cells has shown that plant-produced antibodies can fight infection equally well.

Virus-free technique enables Stanford scientists to easily make stem cells pluripotent

Tiny circles of DNA are the key to a new and easier way to transform stem cells from human fat into induced pluripotent stem cells for use in regenerative medicine,...

Yes, ecology shapes evolution, but guppies show reverse also true

In the natural stream communities of Trinidad, guppy populations live close together, but evolve differently. Upstream, fewer predators mean more guppies but less food for each; they grow slowly and...

Carnegie Mellon first to measure energy released from a virus during infection

Within a virus's tiny exterior is a store of energy waiting to be unleashed. When the virus encounters a host cell, this pent-up energy is released, propelling the viral DNA...

First discovery of the female sex hormone progesterone in a plant

In a finding that overturns conventional wisdom, scientists are reporting the first discovery of the female sex hormone progesterone in a plant. Until now, scientists thought that only animals could...

Prion leaves lasting mark on memory

Prions are a special class of proteins best known as the source for mad cow and other neurodegenerative diseases. Despite this negative reputation, according to a new report in the...

Migrating insects fly in the fast lane

A study published today in Science, by researchers at Rothamsted Research (an institute of the BBSRC), the Met Office, the Natural Resources Institute, and the Universities of Exeter, Greenwich and...

Research finds water movements can shape fish evolution

Researchers from the University of Minnesota have found that the hydrodynamic environment of fish can shape their physical form and swimming style. The research, available on the Journal of Experimental...