Latest science news in Biology & Nature
VIDEO | Polar bear cub raised by hand
Staff at a Danish zoo are raising a baby polar bear by hand, after the young animal's mother failed to produce milk.
Hatchery fish struggle to spawn in wild
Salmon born in captivity become domesticated in as little as one generation, a new study finds, explaining why hatchery-born fish don't do as well as wild-born ones in Oregon rivers.
Salmon virus testing ban suggested
A federal manager suggested a ban on testing for an infectious salmon virus by independent Canadian labs after the virus was detected in wild B.C. sockeye salmon by a P.E.I....
Catching a coral killer
Coral reefs play an important role in marine ecosystems, so it's concerning to scientists, as well as ocean conservationists, that many coral reefs around the world are in distress or...
Scientists study plants' drought response
RIVERSIDE, Calif., Dec. 19 (UPI) -- A study of plants' response to stress during times when water is scarce could lead to engineering drought-resistant crops, U.S. researchers say.
Nile crocodile is two species, study says
SAN DIEGO, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- The Nile crocodile, a species identified by ancient Egyptians, is in fact two distinct species that have been going by the same name,...
National Zoo announces panda donation
WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. National Zoo said Monday a $4.5 million donation to its giant panda program will pay for five years of panda reproduction efforts.
Cockroach hookup signal could benefit endangered woodpecker
A discovery of the unique chemical composition of a cockroach signal -- a "Let's hook up" sex pheromone emitted by certain female wood cockroaches to entice potential mates -- could...
New insight into why locusts swarm
New research has found that a protein associated with learning and memory plays an integral role in changing the behaviour of locusts from that of harmless grasshoppers into swarming pests.
Living 'neon signs' composed of millions of glowing bacteria
In an example of life imitating art, biologists and bioengineers have created a living neon sign composed of millions of bacterial cells that periodically fluoresce in unison like blinking light...
Snipping key nerves may help life threatening heart rhythms
What do sweaty palms and abnormal heart rhythms have in common? Both can be initiated by the nervous system during adrenaline-driven "flight or fight" stress reaction when the body senses...
Bone marrow-derived cells differentiate in the brain through mechanisms of plasticity
Bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMDCs) have been recognized as a source for transplantation because they can contribute to different cell populations in a variety of organs under both normal and...
Gene therapy for ears
Gene therapy may someday in the future replace the use of implants in deaf people. The carrier for this gene medicine may be derived from shrimp shells.
Tipping plant growth
The growth of multicellular organisms is fueled not only by cell division but also by cell growth. Normally cells enlarge all over the surface. However, in many organisms, there are...
Study settles 125-year debate on how nitrogen-fixing bacteria breaches cell walls of legumes
A 125-year debate on how nitrogen-fixing bacteria are able to breach the cell walls of legumes has been settled. A paper to be published on Monday by John Innes Centre...
News Analysis: Recognition of Chimps as Relatives May Reshape Research
New restrictions on federally financed experiments involving chimpanzees may be a turning point in how humans deal with other species.
Data on biodiversity at risk of being lost
A new project is setting out to rescue biodiversity data at risk of being lost, because they are not integrated in institutional databases, are kept in outdated digital storage systems,...
Moving Day for Many Species Is Becoming More Fraught
A report from the Wildlife Conservation Society warns that several dozen “spectacular migrations” — in the air and on land — are in peril.
B12 Deficiency: Second Oldest Gene Mutation Discovered
A gene mutation dating back to 11,600 B.C. is the second oldest human disease mutation discovered so far. The investigators described the mutation in people of Arabic, Turkish and Jewish ancestry,...
Tinkering withevolution: Ecological implications of modular software networks
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the 1960s, Dr.Lawrence J. Fogel introduced what would come to be known as evolutionary programming to the nascentfield of Artificial Intelligence in an attempt to produce intelligent...
First complete sequencing of Mongolian genome
Inner Mongolia and Shenzhen, China – Inner Mongolia Agricultural University (IMAU), Inner Mongolia University for the Nationalities (IMUN) and BGI, the world’s largest genomics organization,...
New type of tick bite first aid
They come out in the spring, and each year they spread further – the ticks. Thirty percent of them transmit borrelia pathogens, the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis that can...
VIDEO: Rare pygmy hippo caught on camera
Scientists catch a rare glimpse of the elusive pygmy hippo in Liberia.
Exotic plants do not necessarily become invasive
Introduced plant species do not necessarily have to outgrow indigenous plant species. That makes it difficult to predict the potential harm of exotic plants. NWO-funded researcher Annelein Meisner recently published...
High-energy lifestyles led to evolution of the sexes
Scientists are a step closer to explaining one of the most enduring mysteries of modern biology; why are there males and females?
New insights into nanoparticles and dividing cells
(PhysOrg.com) -- What happens when living cells take up nanoparticles, those tiny entities that could offer new ways of delivering drugs into the body? A new study from researchers at...
Exploring the mechanism behind the differentiation of immune cells
Ichiro Taniuchi at the RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology, Japan, is carrying out research to understand the mysteries of organism evolution by investigating the mechanism responsible for the...
Researchers use whole-genome sequencing to monitor evolution of drug resistance in bacteria
(PhysOrg.com) -- Two research groups working independently have come up with two different ways to use whole-genome sequencing to follow the path bacteria take in developing resistance to anti-bacterial drugs....