Latest science news in Biology & Nature
BP fixes leaking cap on oil well
BP fixes a problem with a cap on the leaking Gulf of Mexico oil well, clearing the way for crucial tests.
A new spin on drug delivery
Chang Lu and his chemical engineering research group at Virginia Tech have discovered how to 'greatly enhance' the delivery of DNA payloads into cells. The description of their work will...
Bioethics Council Hears Pleas for More Oversight of Synthetic Biology
This week, a presidential bioethics commission took up a burning new issue in science:...
Crews evacuate turtle eggs from oiled Gulf
Biologists are embarking on a sweeping and unprecedented effort to save tens of thousands of turtle eggs from certain death in the oiled Gulf of Mexico. ...
Goodall urges changes to protect chimps
LONDON, July 9 (UPI) -- Modern technology must be exploited to stop the habitat losses threatening wild populations of chimpanzees, said British primatologist Jane Goodall.
Critics cast doubt on recent longevity gene study findings
(PhysOrg.com) -- A recent study of centenarians (reported in PhysOrg on July 1st) that linked a number of gene variants to longevity has now been questioned by other scientists, who...
Gene knockout makes female mice masculine
The mammalian fucose mutarotase enzyme is known to be involved in incorporating the sugar fucose into protein. Female mice that lack the fucose mutarotase (FucM) gene refuse to let males...
Professor discovers way to slow the growth of malignant melanoma
New Queen's University research has shown that the growth of melanoma, one of the most deadly forms of skin cancer, can be slowed when a little known gene called MicroRNA...
HPV DNA testing over 50 percent more sensitive than cytology testing
HPV DNA testing for precancers and cervical cancers is over 50 per cent more sensitive than cytology testing for the same conditions a community-based study in Mexico has revealed. Results...
New approach helps teachers integrate conservation biology into high school ecology classes
Framing familiar environmental issues in everyday language - whether the topic is a Gulf Coast oil spill or the spread of Lyme disease - may be the key to successfully...
NIH-supported finding on cocaine addiction: Tiny molecule, big promise
A specific and remarkably small fragment of RNA appears to protect rats against cocaine addiction—and may also protect humans, according to a recent study funded by the National Institute on...
Biologists find a way to lower tumor risk in stem cell therapies
Biologists have discovered a way to limit the formation of teratomas. They have identified a new signaling pathway critical for unlimited self propagation of embryonic stem cells. Using small molecule...
'Magical thinking' about islands an illusion? Biologist refutes conventional thinking on evolution
Exotic island fauna is a product of evolution, but nothing more than one would expect to see by "chance," according to research that shows there's nothing extraordinary about evolutionary processes...
Human genome: the hunt continues for 'malicious proteins'
Scientific advances of the past decade, such as the sequencing of the human genome, have opened up compelling new fields of research on the interaction of the body's 21,000 proteins,...
Stem cell gene linked to cancer
Australian researchers have found a mutation in stem cell genes that may be linked to the development of leukaemia and other cancers.
Camel spiders are sticky killers
Camel spiders have evolved a unique way to stick to and capture their insect prey, high speed video reveals.
What plant genes tell us about crop domestication
Anyone who has seen teosinte, the wild grass from which maize (corn) evolved, might be forgiven for assuming many genetic changes underlie the transformation of one plant to the other...
Biologists identify a new clue into cellular ageing
The ability to combat some age-related diseases, such as cancer and diabetes, may rest with scientists unlocking clues about the molecular and cellular processes governing ageing. The underlying theory is...
Cosmic Log: How a son’s DNA snared his father
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Today's arrest in the "Grim Sleeper" serial-killing case demonstrates how the sins of the father can be found out through a son's DNA. ...
Turning back the cellular clock: Method developed for tracking adult stem cells as they regress
For the first time, scientists have succeeded in tracking the progression of reprogrammed stem cells through live imaging to learn more about how they are reprogrammed, and how the new...
Tags reveal puffin food 'hotspot'
GPS devices show puffins head for foraging "hotspots" 20 miles away, much closer than previously thought.
Coffee Cup Secrets (w/ Video)
Exactly how coffee and cream blend in that jolt of java an extra eye opener for researchers.
Breakthrough in plant-fungi relationship
(PhysOrg.com) -- Massey biologists have uncovered for the first time the complete set of gene messages that define the symbiotic interaction between a fungal endophyte and its grass host.
Scientists Call on Bird Watchers to Monitor Nests for Signs of Oil
As oil washes ashore along the Gulf Coast, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is asking birders to keep an eye on nesting birds - not just near water, but hundreds...
Paper's toll on Indonesia's rainforests
JAKARTA, July 7 (UPI) -- Greenpeace chastised Indonesian palm oil and paper giant Sinar Mas, as well as its customers, for destroying rainforests and carbon-rich peat lands in the...
Ag Majors Form Development Pacts
Crop Protection: BASF and Monsanto, Sumitomo and Nufarm link for new seeds and herbicides.
Do-not-call list 'useless,' critics say
Enforcement of the national do-not-call list is ineffective, even though more than 300,000 complaints have been filed against unwanted telemarketers, newly released figures suggest.
Evolution: Dreampond revisited
A once-threatened population of African fish is now providing a view of evolution in action. Laura Spinney asks what Lake Victoria cichlids have revealed about speciation.