Latest science news in Biology & Nature
DNA-based gel produces proteins without live cells
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new method developed by Cornell biological engineers offers an efficient way to make proteins for use in medicine or industry without the use of live cells. The...
Lung cells used for sensing antigens
BETHESDA, Md., April 1 (UPI) -- A U.S.-led international team of scientists found certain lung cells can be used in the human immune response for sensing airborne allergens.
Study: Treat lab mice as individuals
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., April 1 (UPI) -- A U.S.-led team of scientists says just as no two humans are the same, treating mice more as individuals in laboratory...
Study: Size matters in snail shells
PHILADELPHIA, March 31 (UPI) -- U.S. biologists have finished a study started in 1915, determining snail shells can significantly increase in size during a relatively short period of...
Researchers identify another cancer gene
LONDON, March 31 (UPI) -- A team of British, Chinese and U.S. researchers has identified a new cancer gene called UTX, on the X chromosome.
Researchers examine use of native southern African plants in veterinary medicine
When animals in southern Africa are sick, often the first place their caretakers look for help is from native plants. That's what makes understanding and conserving these plants so important,...
UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News
NASA starts Arctic research mission ... Scientists use lasers to kill cancer cells … Ecologists study lizard tail shedding … Salmonella survival relies on amoeba ... Health/Science news from UPI.
Scientists identify gene tied to lupus
DALLAS, March 30 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists participating in an international study say they've identified a gene linked to lupus that may explain gender differences in disease risk.
Mutations within a conservative region of HCV affects the therapy
At least 200 million individuals are currently infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) worldwide. Approximately 30%-50% of patients respond to interferon/ribavirin combination therapy. Response to interferon therapy depends mainly on...
Ants really are random wanderers
Ants don't march in predictable patterns to search for crumbs, as you might have thought by watching them. Instead, new research suggests they roam randomly.
Recipes for Health: The Dinner Toast
Though it’s usually thought of as an appetizer, bruschetta makes for a fine meal.
N.B. midwives still waiting for recognition
Midwives in New Brunswick are still waiting for the province to live up to its promise to regulate their industry.
Spreading antibiotics in the soil affects microbial ecosystems
Antibiotics used extensively in intensive livestock production may be having an adverse effect on agricultural soil ecosystems. In a presentation to the Society for General Microbiology meeting at Harrogate International...
Ecologists study lizard tail shedding
ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 30 (UPI) -- U.S. ecologists say they've identified the main factor that determines a lizard's ability to shed its tail when predators attack: viper...
Activity Of Individual Brain Cells Predicts Cognitive Flexibility
A new study provides intriguing insights into mechanisms of cognitive flexibility at the single cell level. The research may help to explain how we can change our point of view...
Drop In Daddy Long Legs Is Devastating Bird Populations
Research shows how climate change is having an impact on upland bird species such as the golden plover.
News from space for osteoporosis patients on earth: resistance is not futile
Results of a space experiment published online in The FASEB Journal have yielded a giant leap for science that could translate into an important step for mankind in the ongoing...
Brain Building: Brain Growth Tied To Cell Division In Mouse Embryos
How your brain grows might come down to how your cells divide. Scientists report that mouse protein Vangl2 controls the asymmetrical cell division and developmental fate of progenitor neurons.
Tea tree oil and silver together make more effective antiseptics
In the fight against infected skin wounds, mixing tea tree oil and silver or putting them in liposomes, (small spheres made from natural lipids), greatly increases their antimicrobial activity and...
Corrosion-inhibiting coatings containing 'good' bacteria
A new, environmentally friendly coating that protects metals against corrosion in seawater has been developed by a team of researchers from Sheffield Hallam University. At the Society for General Microbiology...
New high-throughput screening technique makes probing puzzling proteins possible
Understanding the tens of thousands of proteins that compose the human proteome has emerged as a key challenge of this century, and research efforts to date have already enabled major...
Genes that make bacteria make up their minds
Bacteria are single cell organisms with no nervous system or brain. So how do individual bacterial cells living as part of a complex community called a biofilm 'decide' between different...
Opinion: Personal Genome Project: A Threat to Genetic Privacy?
Associate Lecturer Alma Pekmezovic from La Trobe University writes about the potential threat to our gentic privacy.
'Leaf Tatters' Linked To Herbicides: Study Explores Effects Of Herbicide Drift On White Oak
Herbicide drift, when pesticides "drift" from the targeted application area to a nontargeted area was studied by researchers who evaluated the effects of field corn herbicides on white oak seedlings....
Genomic Variations In African-American And White Populations
Deletions, duplications or rearrangements of genomic regions in the human genomes produce differences in gene copy numbers, referred to as copy number variations (CNV). Those variations account for a substantial...
Genetic Changes Outside Nuclear DNA Suspected To Trigger More Than Half Of All Cancers
A buildup of chemical bonds on certain cancer-promoting genes, a process known as hypermethylation, is widely known to render cells cancerous by disrupting biological brakes on runaway growth. Now, scientists...
Single Embryo Transfer Is Cheapest And Most Effective Strategy For Assisted Reproduction, Studies Find
Two studies are shedding new light on single embryo transfer (SET). The first presents data from one of the longest running consecutive series of patients who chose SET, and shows...
Starve A Yeast, Sweeten Its Lifespan: Molecular Mechanisms Link Sugar Production And Longevity
Researchers have discovered a new energy-making biochemical twist in determining the lifespan of yeast cells, one so valuable to longevity that it is likely to also functions in humans.