Latest science news in Biology & Nature
8 Ways Global Warming Is Already Changing the World
How humans and animals are responding to climate change.
A guide to self-assembly
Imagine gently shaking a box of Lego building blocks, and then looking inside to find a series of complete structures.
Mammals didn’t always eat they way they do now
The feeding habits of mammals haven’t always been what they are today, particularly for omnivores. Some groups of mammals almost [...]
Orangutans make sophisticated tree nests
MANCHESTER, England, April 17 (UPI) -- Tree nests built by orangutans in Indonesia suggest the animals possess complex knowledge of mechanical design and material properties, researchers say.
Predicting the microbial 'weather'
New computer models are letting scientists forecast changes in the population of microbes in the English Channel up to a week in advance.
Ionic liquid drugs hit the spot
Immobilising pharmaceutically active ionic liquids onto solid supports for better handling, stability and dosing
On the move for repair
Scientists from the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research have elucidated mechanisms that control DNA movement in the nucleus. They found that DNA with double-strand breaks moves more than undamaged...
70-year-old chemical mystery solved: How tropolone are synthesized in fungi
Chemists and biologists have finally cracked one of the longest standing chemical mysteries. They have demonstrated exactly how an unusual class of compounds known as tropolones are synthesized in fungi.
Compounds shared by all worms may lead to parasite treatment
(Phys.org) -- Worms are important decomposers in soil and are great for fishing, but in humans, the slimy wrigglers spell trouble. Hookworms, whipworms, Ascaris, Guinea worms and trichina worms are...
Escalating arms race: Predatory sea urchins drive evolution
(Phys.org) -- Nature teems with examples of evolutionary arms races between predators and prey, with the predator species gradually evolving a new mode of attack for each defensive adaptation that...
Endangered lynx in Spain gets help
MADRID, April 16 (UPI) -- Three Iberian lynx are being released into the wild in Spain from a captive breeding program in an effort to save the endangered species,...
Is 4-year-old as smart as Einstein? Not quite yet
One of the latest members of the high-IQ club Mensa is a mere 4 years old, with an IQ of 159 — but psychologists warn against pulling out the Albert...
Nano-syringe delivers combination, targeted brain cancer therapy
Nanomedicine researchers have developed a way to selectively kill brain cancer cells by using a tiny syringe to deliver a combination of chemotherapy drugs directly into the cells.
Books on Science: ‘Overfishing’ Book Review - How Well, and Poorly, We Harvest Ocean Life
A fisheries scientist explains different forms of overfishing, places where stocks are well managed and the difficulties involved in protecting species.
Russia to protect endangered big cats
MOSCOW, April 16 (UPI) -- A U.S. wildlife advocacy group says a Russian decision to create a "Land of the Leopard" national park is "great news" for endangered big...
Further evidence found of disturbed immune system in autism
One of the largest studies of its kind to date found disturbed levels of cytokines in the plasma of children with autism disorder: in particular, five related to the T-helper...
Venomous Snakebites Can Be Painful And Expensive, Says Texas A&M Expert
Coming to an area near you: snakes, and plenty of them. With unusually warm temperatures and plenty of rainfall this spring, experts say this could be a bumper crop year...
Promiscuous queen bees maintain genetic diversity
By mating with nearly 100 males, queen bees on isolated islands avoid inbreeding and keep colonies healthy. New research has focused on giant honey bee colonies on Hainan Island, off...
Study dusts sugar coating off little-known regulation in cells
O-GlcNAc regulatory system adds complexity in cell regulation, could eventually provide new drug targets.
S. Africa rhinos to get micro-chipped, hunt rules tightened
South Africa has tightened rules on rhino hunts and will use micro-chips and DNA profiling to counter a poaching bloodbath that has killed 171 animals this year, the environment minister...
New project to save red squirrels
A new project begins to help save red squirrels in forests in Carmarthenshire - and to help control the population of grey squirrels.
'Oldest' breeding osprey lays egg
An osprey which is thought to be the UK's oldest breeding female lays her 62nd egg at a reserve in Perthshire.
Observatory: Beetles’ Birth Explosion Puts Pine Trees Under Stress
Beetles that attack and kill weak pine trees are reproducing twice a year instead of once as warm temperatures arrive earlier, and millions of trees are dying.
Well: Phys Ed: Does Exercise Make You Overeat?
Exercise may change your desire to eat, two recent studies show, by altering how certain parts of your brain respond to the sight of food.
Surprising study results: More cattle means less Lyme disease
(Phys.org) -- The abundance of cattle is the primary influence on the prevalence of two tick-borne pathogens, according to a paper in the April Applied and Environmental Microbiology. One of...
March was hot in US, not so elsewhere in world
WASHINGTON (AP) -- While the United States baked to its hottest March by far, the rest of the world took a break last month from ever...
DNA being tested on N.B. mystery 'wolf'
A zoologist at the New Brunswick Museum believes the large animal shot on the Acadian Peninsula earlier this month could be a wolf.
Red Blood Cells Release Cargo On Demand
Drug Delivery: By coating the cells with gold nanoparticles, researchers hope to enable drug delivery to tumors