Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Escape cancer, but age sooner? The dark side of the tumor suppressing process
Cells shut down and stop dividing when their DNA is damaged, in a process known as cellular senescence, so as to prevent damaged DNA from leading to unregulated cell division...
No place like home: New theory for how salmon, sea turtles find their birthplace
How marine animals find their way back to their birthplace to reproduce after migrating across thousands of miles of open ocean has mystified scientists for more than a century. But...
Viral DNA in bacterial genome could hold key to novel cystic fibrosis treatments
The bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa is well known for its environmental versatility, ability to cause infection in humans, and its capacity to resist antibiotics. P. aeruginosa is the most common...
Brown chemist finds gray mold's killer gene
Gray mold is a gardener's nightmare. The fungus, also known by its scientific name Botrytis cinerea, is a scourge to more than 200 agricultural and ornamental plant species, including staples...
Tool helps identify gene function in soybeans
In the race for bioengineered crops, sequencing the genome could be considered the first leg in a multi-leg relay. Once the sequence is complete, the baton is passed forward to...
Palm oil offers no green solution
A major international study says palm oil plantations reduce plant and animal diversity, and do little to reduce carbon emissions.
Virginia Tech researchers discover how mosquitoes avoid succumbing to viruses they transmit
Mosquitoes are like Typhoid Mary. They can spread viruses which cause West Nile fever, dengue fever, or yellow fever without themselves getting sick. Scientists long thought that the mosquito didn't...
Study on wildlife corridors shows how they work over time
At the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, there are five strange looking "patches" cleared out of the surrounding forest. No, they're not crop circles carved by aliens.
Danger Detector Found in Mice
One whiff of an alarm pheromone sends figurative shivers down a mouse's little spine.
New movement models tested at the Smithsonian in Panama
Feeling threatened? Hungry? Looking for a mate? Move! Tracking and remote sensing data are making it easier to locate organisms and find out what they are up to. However, general...
Discovery of virus in lemur could shed light on AIDS
The genome of a squirrel-sized, saucer-eyed lemur from Madagascar may help scientists understand how HIV-like viruses coevolved with primates, according to new research from the Stanford University School of Medicine....
Powerful online tool for protein analysis provided pro bono by Stanford geneticist
Scientists around the world may benefit from a powerful new database, available for free online, that will help them to home in on the parts of proteins most necessary for...
UN officials launch "Year of the Gorilla"
The "Year of the Gorilla" began Monday — a U.N. effort to raise money for primates threatened with extinction from disease, hunting and deforestation.
Endangered sawfish focus of national collection and recovery efforts
The University of Florida, keeper of the world's shark attack records, is also now overseeing a national records collection for another toothy marine predator: the sawfish.
Vitamin D found to fight placental infection
In a paper available at the online site of the journal Biology of Reproduction, a team of UCLA researchers reports for the first time that vitamin D induces immune responses...
Male prostitutes need more help from society: study
Male prostitution exists in Saskatchewan and the people involved need more help from society, according to a report released Monday.
VIDEO: Deep Sea Robo-Help
Scientists searching the depths of the ocean for undiscovered marine life off the coast of Maine get help from a well-equipped robot.
VIDEO: Rangers Return to Congo Park
A deal between the government and rebel leaders has enabled rangers to return to Congo's Virunga National Park to look after endangered mountain gorillas.
Reprogrammable cell type depends on a single gene to keep its identity
Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered that a certain differentiated cell type is so ready to change its identity that it requires the constant expression of a...
'Deranged Calcium Signaling' Contributes To Neurological Disorder
Defective calcium metabolism in nerve cells may play a major role in a fatal genetic neurological disorder that resembles Huntington's disease, researchers have found in a mouse study.
Insights Into Adaptive Ability Of Cells May Help Explain How Cancer Eludes Body's Natural Defense
Scientists have shed light on the ability of cells to adapt to disruptions to their basic division machineries -- a finding that may help explain how cancer cells elude the...
Beetles May Be Source Of Food-Borne Pathogens In Broiler Flocks
A new study suggests that darkling beetles and their larvae can transmit harmful food-borne pathogens to chicks in broiler houses in successive rearing cycles.
Kidney Function Discovery Sheds Light On Genetic Complexity Of Disease
To find a cure for cancer, hemophilia and other diseases, researchers need to be looking for complex, interacting genetic factors, according to the authors of a new study.
New technique captures high-res images of full retina
Researchers used a new imaging technique to take high quality color photographs of the clinical stages of ocular inflammation in mice, and the technology could help in the monitoring and...
US chemical industry wary of facilities danger list
Think tank report names 101 most dangerous chemical plants and criticises security efforts
Mammals can be stimulated to regrow damaged inner retina nerve cells
Researchers at the University of Washington (UW) have reported for the first time that mammals can be stimulated to regrow inner nerve cells in their damaged retinas. Located in the...
Scripps Research scientists shed light on how DNA is unwound so that its code can be read
LA JOLLA, CA—November 24, 2008—Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have figured out how a macromolecular machine is able to unwind the long and twisted tangles of DNA within a...
Scientists shed light on evolution of gene regulation
Scientists at Penn State have shed light on some of the processes that regulate genes -- such as the processes that ensure that proteins are produced at the correct time,...