Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Losing the race: Illegal trade devastating Madagascar's radiated tortoise
Armed bands of poachers are illegally collecting Madagascar's radiated tortoise ( Astrochelys radiata ) by the truckload for the lucrative pet and meat trades, according to a report from the...
Birds of a feather like to dance together
Flamingos could probably outdo any contender on "Dancing With the Stars." They march with perfect posture, shifting their heads in unison from side to side. As their dance continues, the...
Rural Ants Supersize When They Go Urban
Rural ants can live in supercolonies with more than 6 million worker ants and 50,000 queent ants.
Will genetics ever have the promised impact on medical practice?
Since the discovery of gene sequencing in the late 1970s, it was predicted that genetics would revolutionize medicine and provide answers to the causes of many of our common killers....
Montana State researcher discovers that bile sends mixed signals to E. coli
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Bile secretions in the small intestine send signals to disease-causing gut bacteria allowing them to change their behavior to maximize their chances of surviving, Montana State...
Oceanic Dispersal Drove Blind Snake Evolution
Blindsnakes are one of the few groups of organisms that inhabited Madagascar when it broke from India about 100 million years ago, and continental drift had a profound impact on...
Max Planck scientists develop gene switch for chloroplasts in plant cells
In order for a gene to create a protein, the gene's DNA must first be converted into what's known as messenger RNA. These RNA molecules are the instruction manuals that...
Researchers look at reducing yield loss for crops under stress
People feel it, animals feel it, and yes, plants sense it too. It's stress. Plant researchers are taking a long look at stress in order to improve crop productivity, especially...
Young salamanders' movement over land helps stabilise populations
Amphibians - frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts - are disappearing worldwide, but the stream salamanders of the Appalachian Mountains appear to be stable. This region is home to the largest...
U of I researchers say foliar fungicides may not be the answer for hail-damaged corn
University of Illinois researchers may have debunked the myth that foliar fungicides can improve corn's tolerance to hail damage...
Special Report: Fast machines, genes and the future of medicine
WASHINGTON/CHICAGO/LONDON (Reuters ) - Francis Collins, who helped map the human genome, did not get around to having his own genes analyzed until last summer. And he was surprised by...
Evolving Sexual Tensions
Males and females are different, yet they evolve from the same set of genes - which is why it gets interesting.
A push makes neuron longer
Some neurons from spinal cord have quite long neurites, but the molecular mechanism of long-neurite outgrowth has been still mysterious. The research team led by Assistant Professor Koji Shibasaki in...
Pushy neighbour sends several messages
How does a plant ensure that one cell remains responsible for making root cells for the rest of its life? The plant embryo contains the transcription factor MONOPTEROS. This tells...
Researchers use light to coax cells to move
(PhysOrg.com) -- Suppose you could get immune cells to move just where you wanted them to in the body - to fight infection or kill a tumor? It may sound...
Third gender identified in a close relative of the olive tree
A hitherto unknown reproductive system in a species closely related to the olive tree, Phillyrea angustifolia L., has been discovered by French researchers. This system explains the high concentration of...
Amoeba Genome Shows Evolution of Complex Life
(PhysOrg.com) -- An amoeba with a split personality is giving biologists clues to the ancestry of organisms from fungi to people and insight into how complex organisms evolved.
St. John's wort collection mined for its medicinal value
A unique collection of St. John's wort (Hypericum) curated by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Ames, Iowa, is providing university collaborators with genetically diverse, well-documented sources of this herb...
10 Surprising Sex Discoveries
Researchers are constantly coming up with new discoveries that teach us more about the many surprising ways sex plays out in our lives and how it affects us.
Nanofluidics Identify Epigenetic Changes One Molecule at a Time
(PhysOrg.com) -- Using a system of nanofluidic channels and multicolor fluorescence microscopy, a team of investigators at Cornell University has developed a method that analyzes the binding of DNA and...
Shell Shock: U.S. State Department bans shrimp imports from Mexico to protect endangered turtles
No turtle protections, no shrimp. That's the word from the U.S. Department of State, which ruled on Thursday to ban imports of wild-caught Mexican shrimp if they are collected in...
Agricultural mega-programmes 'will not attract funding'
Key donors say that radical CGIAR reforms, which could dictate the direction of agricultural research for the next decade, lack bite.
Japan's Science Budget Faces Scrutiny—Again
A Japanese cabinet member said today that research institutes will be among the targets...
Regulation of mindin expression and the signaling pathway
Mindin has an indispensable role in both innate and adaptive immunity. A research group in China investigated regulation of mindin expression and the signaling pathway involved. mRNA expression of mindin...
Elephants Divvy Up The Leg Work
Elephants. They’re the SUVs of the animal kingdom. They’re big and rugged, and can carry lots of cargo. And now a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of...
Study shows chocolate reduces blood pressure and risk of heart disease
Easter eggs and other chocolate may be good for you -- at least in small quantities and preferably if it's dark chocolate -- according to research that shows...
Model shows why males have lower immunity to disease
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from the University of Cambridge in the UK have for the first time incorporated sexual reproduction in a mathematical model of the evolution of defense against disease,...
Smoke exposure alters seeds
Some seeds respond to smoke by becoming more sensitive to light, a new study has found – adapting them to the post-fire environment.