Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Ser62 – Another piece of the puzzle…
The molecular functions of Folliculin (FLCN) are poorly understood, but indirect interactions between FLCN and AMPK (of the mTOR signaling network) mediated by FNIP1 and FNIP2 have been firmly established...
Golden Oldie: Key Role for Ancient Protein in Algae Photosynthesis
The discovery that an ancient light harvesting protein plays a pivotal role in the photosynthesis of green algae should help the effort to develop algae as a biofuels feedstock. Researchers...
Knockouts in human cells point to pathogenic targets
Researchers have developed a new approach for genetics in human cells and used this technique to identify specific genes and proteins required for pathogens. With the ability to generate knockout...
Pregnant pipefish dads cannibalize young
Male pipefish not only carry fertilized eggs - like their relatives seahorses; they also absorb nutrients from them, essentially cannibalizing their offspring.
Uruguay to set up its first science academy
The Uruguayan government has approved the establishment of a National Academy of Sciences, and the first 15 members will be selected by other academies in the region.
Nuclear science to fight sleeping sickness
The International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday announced an agreement to help African nations battle the tsetse fly, the main carrier of parasites that causes sleeping sickness with its bites.
MS 'blood blockage theory' tested
US scientists are testing a radical new theory that MS is caused by blockages in the veins that drain the brain.
RNA on the move
In the fruit fly Drosophila, oskar mRNA, which is involved in defining the animal's body axes, is produced in the nuclei of nurse cells neighbouring the oocyte, and must be...
Ecological speciation by sexual selection on good genes
Darwin suggested that the action of natural selection can produce new species, but 150 years after the publication of his famous book, 'On the Origin of Species,' debate still continues...
First-ever blueprint of a minimal cell is more complex than expected
What are the bare essentials of life, the indispensable ingredients required to produce a cell that can survive on its own? Can we describe the molecular anatomy of a cell,...
Wide heads give hammerheads exceptional stereo view
Hammerhead sharks are some of the Ocean's most distinctive residents. 'Everyone wants to understand why they have this strange head shape,' says Michelle McComb from Florida Atlantic University. One possible...
Ecologists sound out new solution for monitoring cryptic species
Ecologists have at last worked out a way of using recordings of birdsong to accurately measure the size of bird populations. This is the first time sound recordings from a...
New discovery may lead to heartier, high-yielding plants
Scientists have shown how a family of genes (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase, or ACS genes), in the weed Arabidopsis thaliana, are responsible for production of ethylene. This gas affects many aspects of...
Coma recovery case attracts doubters
(AP) -- Rom Houben's mother remembers her son's amazement when he finally started communicating again after spending 23 years locked in a paralyzed body that was misdiagnosed as vegetative.
S.Leone elephants 'wiped out' by poachers: official
Poachers "wiped out" the entire elephant herd in Sierra Leone's only wildlife park, wildlife managers said Thursday after police said they had arrested a gang of 10 poachers.
New Switchgrass Germplasm Collected in Florida
(PhysOrg.com) -- Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and cooperators have collected 46 new populations of switchgrass in Florida, adding valuable new accessions to the germplasm collection of this potential bioenergy...
BLUE BANANA PICTURE: Glowing Spots Reveal How Cells Die
Seen under ultraviolet light, a ripening banana's brown spots are each ringed by an eerie blue glow created by dying cells, offering researchers a new way to study how plants...
Whiteflies sabotage alarm system of plant in distress
(PhysOrg.com) -- When spider mites attack a bean plant, the plant responds by producing odours which attract predatory mites. These predatory mites then exterminate the spider mite population, thus acting...
Australian territory to cull 6,000 wild camels
Australian authorities plan to corral about 6,000 wild camels with helicopters and gun them down after they overran a small Outback town in search of water, trampling fences, smashing tanks...
Discovery Allows Scientists For The First Time To Annotate Genomes Experimentally
Bioengineers have made a breakthrough development that will now allow scientists to perform full delineation of the location and use of genomic elements.
Evolution of highly toxic box jellyfish unraveled
With thousands of stinging cells that can emit deadly venom from tentacles that can reach ten feet in length, the 50 or so species of box jellyfish have long been...
Ladybugs taken hostage by wasps
Are ladybugs being overtaken by wasps? An entomologist is investigating a type of wasp present in Quebec that forces ladybugs to carry their larvae. These wasps lay their eggs on...
Unique Micronail Chip Makes Electronics And Bio Cells Communicate
A unique microchip with microscopic nail structures enable close communication between the electronics and biological cells. The new chip is a mass-producible, easy-to-use tool in electrophysiology research, for example for...
Experts think toxic algae harming endangered fish
(AP) -- Scientists say they think toxins from a blue-green algae plaguing lakes and rivers around the West are harming an endangered fish in the Klamath Basin, adding another...
Brain's endocannabinoid signaling pathway kept in check by two enzymes
(PhysOrg.com) -- A research team has shown that blocking the degradation of two naturally occurring cannabinoids in the endocannabinoid signaling pathway of the brain produces marijuana-like behavioral effects in mice,...
Snails given mirror-image shells
Japanese researchers have created mirror-image snails whose shells coil in the opposite direction to what written in their genes.
New molecule implicated in diabetes-associated blindness
Scientists have demonstrated that the Wnt signaling pathway plays a role in diabetic retinopathy.