Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Scientists Find a Common Link of Bird Flocks, Breast Milk and Trust
What do flocks of birds have in common with trust, monogamy, and even breast milk? According to a new report in the journal Science, they are regulated by virtually identical...
Scientists Take Early Steps Toward Mapping Epigenetic Variability
Scientists have taken the first steps toward mapping epigenetic variability in cells and tissues. Mapping the human epigenome, similar to the human genome project in the 1990s, could someday allow...
Braille Displays Get New Life With Artificial Muscles
Research with tiny artificial muscles may yield a full-page active Braille system that can refresh automatically and come to life right beneath your fingertips.
Green Gasoline
Researchers have made a breakthrough in the development of "green gasoline," a liquid identical to standard gasoline yet created from sustainable biomass sources, such as switch grass and poplar trees.
Some mice stem cells divide in unexpected ways
(PhysOrg.com) -- Using new genetic tools, Cornell researchers have found that some stem cells in mice behave dramatically different than in fruit flies, where most of the pioneering stem cell...
Florida, federal officials reach deal for Everglades restoration
Water managers and the White House signed a crucial contract Thursday that promises a much-needed infusion of federal dollars for the Everglades.
Foal born from eggs taken from dead mare
ITHACA, N.Y., Aug. 14 (UPI) -- A foal named Mira is believed to be the first born from a dead mare whose eggs were extracted for remote fertilization, scientists...
Rare Gene Mutation Keeps People Alert on Less Sleep
Scientists find a genetic mutation that allows a mother and daughter to feel fine on six hours of sleep "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man stupid and...
Instant insight: Zooming in on sensors
Seunghun Hong, at Seoul National University, Korea, and colleagues discuss ways to integrate nanowires and nanotubes on chips
Mushroom documentary released on memory sticks
Canadian director Ron Mann is testing out a new method of movie distribution, releasing his documentary Know Your Mushrooms on a custom memory stick.
Study finds higher pathogen loads in collapsed honeybee colonies
Honeybees in colonies affected by colony collapse disorder (CCD) have higher levels of pathogens and are co-infected with a greater number of pathogens than their non-CCD counterparts, but no individual...
First human gene implicated in regulating length of human sleep
Scientists have discovered the first gene involved in regulating the optimal length of human sleep, offering a window into a key aspect of slumber, an enigmatic phenomenon that is critical...
Mango seeds may protect against deadly food bacteria
Life in the fruit bowl is no longer the pits, thanks to a University of Alberta researcher...
Orchids and fungi - partners for life
Three Thai orchids have been found to rely on a wide range of fungi to help them take carbon out of the soil instead of producing their own organic carbon....
Raising the alarm when DNA goes bad
Our genome is constantly under attack from things like UV light and toxins, which can damage or even break DNA strands and ultimately lead to cancer and other diseases. Scientists...
New method takes aim at aggressive cancer cells
A multi-institutional team of Boston-area researchers has discovered a chemical that works in mice to kill the rare but aggressive cells within breast cancers that have the ability to seed...
Sun protection for penguins - a specially designed wetsuit
A bald penguin is given a wetsuit to wear at a Hampshire wildlife park to protect him from sunburn after he shed all his feathers in one day.
Bird watcher makes meal of midges
A woman is asking people to send her expired midges so she can add them to food balls for wild birds.
Math model accurately mimics cell division in carbon-cycling bacterium
Scientists from the Department of Biological Sciences and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech have developed a quantitative, mathematical model of DNA replication and cell division for the...
Blue tits embrace 'aromatherapy'
Blue tits use aromatic medicinal plants such as mint and lavender to disinfect their nests, scientists have discovered.
Novel Mechanism Revealed For Increasing Recombinant Protein Yield In Tobacco
Elastin-like polypeptides cause plants to store GM proteins in special "protein bodies," insulating them from normal cellular degradation processes and increasing the overall protein yield. Researchers have visualized the mechanism...
New Life Histories Emerge For Invasive Wasps, Magnify Ecological Harm
A switch from annual to multiyear colonies and a willingness to feed just about any prey to their young have allowed invasive yellowjacket wasps to disrupt native populations of insects...
Muscular Protein Bond -- Strongest Yet Found In Nature
Scientists have shed new light on the roots of mechanical strength in muscle tissue by probing -- through single-molecule experiments -- a super-stable protein bond, the titin-telethonin complex.
Ground beetles produce lemon/orange-scented aromas as predator repellents, according to new research
In a paper to appear in the journal "Naturwissenschaften," Stevens Institute of Technology Professor Athula Attygalle and his research student, Xiaogang Wu, report for the first time that some ground...
Early-exposure to a high fat diet shapes future preference
It goes without saying that the US is currently experiencing a rapidly growing obesity epidemic. Researchers from various fields continue to look for possible causes and solutions to such a...
Epic Migration Seen "Through Eyes of" Antelope
On foot, photographer Joe Riis provides an intimate window on one of North America's longest annual migrations, which is increasingly threatened by fences and highways. Video.
Keeping Nutrients in Astronauts' Food Vital During Long Space Flights
A new study in the Journal of Food Science explores the impact of space flight on the nutritional value of foods. Maintaining the health of the crew aboard a spacecraft...
A gene for a short night’s sleep
Genetic variation reduces amount of shut-eye in some people and in experiments on mice and fruit flies