Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Study finds blood platelets can reproduce
SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- In what's described as a groundbreaking discovery, a U.S.-led research team says its found blood platelets have the ability to reproduce in...
Cause of blue crab decline is sought
CHARLESTON, S.C., Jan. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they're seeking the cause of a recent decline in the Atlantic blue crab population.
In pictures: Wildlife of the Chagos islands
The British Indian Ocean territory of the Chagos islands is the UK's greatest area of marine biodiversity, home to at least 220 coral species and more than 1,000 species of...
A gimmick-free weight-loss pill in the works
A Universite de Montreal research team is developing a pill composed of leptin, the protein that tells our brain to stop eating. 'Mice deprived of leptin will not stop eating....
To restore vision, implant preps and seeds a damaged eye
Researchers trying to restore vision damaged by disease have found promise in a tiny implant that sows seeds of new cells in the eye...
Green plant transport mystery solved
Contrary to prevailing wisdom, a new study from plant biologists at UC Davis shows that proteins of the Hsp70 family do indeed chaperone proteins across the membranes of chloroplasts, just...
How to shoot the messenger
Cells rely on a range of signalling systems to communicate with each other and to control their own internal workings. Scientists from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Hamburg,...
Altruistic Chimpanzees Adopt Orphans
Chimpanzees can be altruistic just like humans, according to a new study that found 18 cases of orphaned chimps being adopted in the wild.
Study: Brain cancer has four subtypes
BETHESDA, Md., Jan. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say the most common form of adult brain cancer -- glioblastoma multiforme -- is not a single disease, but four distinct...
Understanding human threats to the Earth's largest habitat -- the deep sea
(PhysOrg.com) -- When most people think about the deep sea, they picture broad expanses of muddy seafloor. However, the majority of deep-sea animals, and perhaps the majority of all animals...
Mammoth Achievement: Researchers at the forefront of molecular biology
Forget Jurassic Park. By successfully sequencing the DNA of a long-extinct species, Stephan Schuster and Webb Miller have helped push back the boundaries of molecular biology.
New way found to make blood vessel cells
NEW YORK, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've developed a technique to generate functional endothelial blood vessel cells from human embryonic and pluripotent stem cells.
Targeting cancer stem cells in the lab
(PhysOrg.com) -- Understanding of the particular cancer cells within a tumour that drive its growth could now advance more rapidly, thanks to Oxford University scientists.
Slow snails are quick to make new species
Snails may split into different species rapidly precisely because they move so slowly, scientists now suggest. Species - Snail - Biology - Flora and Fauna -...
In Organic Cover Crops, More Seeds Means Fewer Weeds
(PhysOrg.com) -- Farmers cultivating organic produce often use winter cover crops to add soil organic matter, improve nutrient cycling and suppress weeds. Now these producers can optimize cover crop use...
Study: How to catch a fly ball? Keep an eye on it
A new study finds the way that baseball outfielders catch fly balls is simple: by keeping their eyes on the ball. Baseball - Batted ball -...
ConocoPhillips, Statoil eye Alaska's OCS
HOUSTON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- ConocoPhillips and Statoil announced they teamed up on a deal to work in the outer continental shelf off the north coast of Alaska.
Royal Dutch Shell balks on tar sands
LONDON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Plans to explore tar sands in Canada will be scaled back in order to focus on conventional oil and gas reserves, executives at Royal...
UCF professor's vaccine could be lethal weapon against malaria, cholera
Mankind may finally have a weapon to fight two of the world's deadliest diseases. A University of Central Florida biomedical researcher has developed what promises to be the first low-cost...
“What Are We, In The Eyes Of Alien Probers?”
or perhaps "What Alien Probers Conclude Humans Are” When aliens come to Earth to investigate life here, they don’t simply beam up a specimen and start probing. (And they’re also, by...
Trawlers threaten Australian blobfish
SYDNEY, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- The gelatinous blobfish is at risk of extinction from fishing trawlers that drag the ocean floors off southeastern Australia, a marine scientist said.
How to measure attention span of a fly: Implications for ADHD, autism in humans
An Australian-German team of scientists has found a way to measure the attention span of a fly. The findings could lead to further advances in the understanding of attention-deficit hyperactivity...
Hiding place for missing heritability uncovered
Rare mutations linked to disease may hide in common variants.
Genome sequencing study finds clues to unravelling the causes of deadly epidemics
A team of collaborating scientists at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute in Houston, the Broad Institute in Boston, Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, and the Ontario Agency for Health Protection...
In pictures: Wildlife sniffer dogs
Unique pictures released by scientists show how dogs are being used to help track large mammals for conservation purposes in the biodiversity hotspot of the Cerrado, Brazil, South America.
Flash frozen under the electron microscope: Examining the mechanical properties of Alzheimer`s amyloid fibrils
(PhysOrg.com) -- Alzheimer`s disease, Parkinson`s disease, type-II diabetes, and prion diseases like BSE all involve the deposition of amyloid fibrils in tissues and organs. These are fibrous clumps of incorrectly...
Neuron array advances toxicity testing
Scientists in Germany propose a reliable in vitro assay for neurotoxicology testing, which could offer an alternative to animal testing
Stabilising RNAs enhances gene silencing in tumours
Chemically modified, stabilised RNA molecules find their way into cells more easily, claim researchers