Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Scientists map potato genetic sequencing draft
An international scientific consortium published the genetic sequencing draft of the potato, what could help to improve its productivity.
C. Difficile Hypervirulence Genes Identified
Five genetic regions have been identified that are unique to the most virulent strain of Clostridium difficile, the hospital superbug. Researchers studied the genome of the bacterium, looking for genes...
Scientists discover how to send insects off the scent of crops
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)-funded research, published this week in Chemical Communications, describes how scientists have discovered molecules that could confuse insects' ability to detect plants by interfering...
How mitochondrial gene defects impair respiration, other major life functions
Researchers are delving into abnormal gene function in mitochondria, structures within cells that power our lives. Mitochondria are the place where energy is generated from the most basic molecules of...
Caltech scientists get detailed glimpse of chemoreceptor architecture in bacterial cells
Using state-of-the-art electron microscopy techniques, a team led by researchers from Caltech has for the first time visualised and described the precise arrangement of chemoreceptors - the receptors that sense...
Fish Fend Off Invading Germs With An Initial Response Similar To One Found In Humans
A new study demonstrates that the same proteins produced by humans early during infection are also made by fish early after exposure to harmful germs. These proteins activate the fish...
Enzyme is key to clogged arteries
Scientists at Queen Mary, University of London have made an important discovery in understanding what causes arteries to clog up...
Getting A Leg Up On Whale And Dolphin Evolution: New Comprehensive Analysis Sheds Light On The Origin Of Cetaceans
A comprehensive study that builds on previous phylogenetic research on cetaceans and that combines morphology, genetics, and behavior confirms that the closest living relative is the hippo and demonstrates that...
New test for heavy metal danger
Researchers have developed a world-first technique that detects whether heavy metals in soil are a threat to human health.
Establishing healthy shrubs not the water-consuming task many think, research shows
(PhysOrg.com) -- Good news for your utility bills and the environment: New University of Florida research shows that landscape shrubs need much less water to establish healthy roots than you...
A Connection Between Sleep and Alzheimer's?
Sleep deprivation enhances pathological plaque formation in the brains of mice [Read more]
Does Evolutionary Biology Make Predictions?
A commenter on a previous post seems to have objected to the claim that evolutionary science makes predictions. gimme 5 examples of predictions, i mean real predictions: not fit the model...
NEW SPECIES PICTURE: "Misunderstood" Gecko Discovered
Some lizards get no respect. Even after finally being recognized by science, a new gecko species' middle name is still "misunderstood."
Gulf fritillary is back
(PhysOrg.com) -- A showy butterfly with bright orange-red wings and a 4-inch wingspan is back in the Sacramento metropolitan area after a four-decade absence and in the Davis area after...
Golden Nanotubes Detect Tumor Cells, Map Sentinel Lymph Nodes
(PhysOrg.com) -- Biomedical researchers at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock have developed a special contrast-imaging agent made...
Faking the Results (and Fixing the Damage Done)
Scientists consider new ways to prevent and spot research misconduct In a series of studies designed to assess two anti-tissue-rejection drugs, former University of Alabama–Birmingham surgeons Judith Thomas and Juan Contreras carefully detailed experiments...
Reversibility Of Evolutionary Processes
An article in LiveScience entitled "Evolution Can't Go Backward" has highlighted an experiment done to determine whether a protein could be "unmutated" (i.e. returned to its original state) and regain...
Mind Reading Gets A Step Closer Using Functional Imaging
Patterns of brain activity allow researchers to know what number a person has just seen or how many dots a person has been presented with, according to a report published...
Scientists and healers team up to test AIDS remedy
South African researchers are probing the AIDS-fighting potential of local plants, signalling a new alliance with healers.
Shedding light on cancer cells
Scientists label cells with coloured or glowing chemicals to observe how basic cellular activities differ between healthy and cancerous cells. Existing techniques for labelling cells are either too slow or...
A Change for the better: Improving properties of enzymes
An international team of scientists from the Czech Republic, Germany and Japan have developed a new method for improving the properties of enzymes. The method has potential for wide application...
Cockroaches Control Their Breathing to Save Water
(PhysOrg.com) -- Many insects have been known for decades to hold their breath when resting, but the reasons have not been well understood. A new study on cockroaches suggests the...
Mount Sinai leads unprecedented attempt to discover rules for assembling human tissue
Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and two other academic institutions have received federal funding to systematically assemble functional human kidney tissue from tissue modeled on a computer. If...
Safe havens for rarest primates
Two of the world's rarest species of primate are to be helped by new nature reserves created in Vietnam and China.
Flying Turkmen leopards to bring species back to Caucasus
Two leopards from Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan are recovering after a long flight and car ride to their new homes in a Russian national park, as part of efforts to reintroduce the...
Direct route to RNA sequences
New technique allows single molecules of RNA to be sequenced directly without the multiple manipulations currently needed
Fitness: Back to Basics: Yes, Sergeant!
The use of low-tech equipment has resurfaced in recent years in a shift toward so-called functional fitness.
MRI, solar cells, aging work lead Nobel predictions
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists who discovered the secrets of how cells age, who made efficient solar cells possible and whose work led to real-time imaging of the brain are all...