Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Landmark Study Finds Industrial Chicken Breeds Seriously Lack Genetic Diversity
(PhysOrg.com) -- Commercial chicken breeds used to produce meat and eggs around the world have lost at least half of the genetic diversity once present among their ancestors, according to...
Researchers discover molecular gatekeeper in enzyme
Researchers from Wageningen University, along with colleagues from the University of Groningen and the University of Pavia (Italy), have unravelled the mechanism that plays a role in the natural production...
UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News
Scientist ponders ice sheet melting … Climate change may alter malaria patterns … More than 70 yeast strains are sequenced … New genetic area linked with breast cancer ... Health/Science...
Dendritic cells as a new player in arteries and heart valves
Discovered by Ralph M. Steinman in 1973, dendritic cells have been implicated in early immune responses such as graft rejection, resistance to tumors and autoimmune diseases. New research shows that...
Predators zoom in on lice-infested salmon
Parasite picked up near fish farms may harm wild juveniles in unexpected ways
Researcher: Culling whales will not boost tropical fisheries
(PhysOrg.com) -- For decades there has been a controversy about whales eating fish in the tropics. The “whales eat fish” debate has been at the heart of policy decisions about...
Saving Jaguars, Tigers Can Prevent Human Diseases?
Sparing big cats can save human lives by keeping some animal-borne diseases in check, says a conservation group that has partnered with a hospital to spread the word about the...
Scientists investigate role of stem cells in adult brain cell production
(PhysOrg.com) -- Georgia State researchers in the university`s Neuroscience Institute and the department of biology are investigating how stem cells create new brain cells in adulthood.
Rainforest grown coffee bad for birds
Despite common belief, growing coffee under the canopy of Ethiopian rainforests leads to a decline in bird numbers, new research has found.
Southern plants stuck in their ways
Plants from the south rarely adapt to live in new habitats, despite millions of years of evolutionary change, an international research team has discovered.
Census of Marine Life explorers find hundreds of identical species thrive in both Arctic, Antarctic
Earth's unique, forbidding ice oceans of the Arctic and Antarctic have revealed a trove of secrets to Census of Marine Life explorers, who were especially surprised to find at least...
Scientists offer new evolution theories
CHICAGO, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Analyzing a fish/amphibian intermediate species or human beings' genetic code can uncover proof of evolution, scientists said at a Chicago gathering.
Farm wildlife cash 'could return'
Farmers could be paid once again to set aside uncultivated land for wildlife, the government says.
Parasite Wasps Have Practiced Gene Therapy For A Hundred Million Years
Braconid parasite wasps and their caterpillar hosts form a unique host-parasite model: the wasps lay their eggs inside the caterpillars and simultaneously inject some viral particles to get around the...
Gut Parasites That Can Infect Man May Be Widespread In Domestic And Wild Animals
The gut protozoans Giardia duodenalis and various species of Cryptosporidium are extremely contagious single-celled parasites liable to cause digestive disease in both man and animals. Some species and genotypes of...
New Sequencing Technology Pinpoint 'On-off Switches' In Genomes
Scientists have developed a set of molecular tools that provide important insight into the complex genomes of multicellular organisms. The strategy promises to clarify the longstanding mystery of the role...
Nanoparticle 'Smart Bomb' Targets Drug Delivery To Cancer Cells
Researchers have successfully modified a common plant virus to deliver drugs only to specific cells inside the human body, without affecting surrounding tissue. These tiny "smart bombs" -- each one...
New study provides insight into ways organ systems outside the brain may affect Alzheimer's disease
In Alzheimer's disease the brain accumulates a molecule called A-beta that can be quite toxic to brain cells. Many researchers believe that finding ways to clear A-beta may be a...
'Now you see it, now you don't'
Queen Mary scientists have, for the first time, used computer artificial intelligence to create previously unseen types of pictures to explore the abilities of the human visual system.
Japanese turtle to get prosthetic limbs
A Japanese conservation group said Monday it plans to fit prosthetic front limbs to a sea turtle injured in what marine scientists believe was a shark attack.
Ivory trade hits Asia's elephants
The illegal ivory trade in Vietnam is threatening the survival of South East Asia's elephants, a wildlife monitoring group says.
DNA testing fails on ancient British polar bear remains
A scientist says she has been unable to extract DNA for analysis from ancient Scottish bear remains.
Empathy Partly Based On Genes, Mice Study Shows
The ability to empathize with others is partially determined by genes, according to new research on mice.
New Test For Mysterious Metabolic Diseases
Scientists have devised a much-needed way to monitor and find treatments for a mysterious and devastating group of metabolic diseases that arise from mutations in cells' fuel-burning mechanism.
Synthetic Biology Yields Clues To Evolution And Origin Of Life
Researchers in the field of synthetic biology are still a long way from being able to assemble living cells from scratch in the laboratory. But according tobiochemists, their efforts are...
Medical Students Target Aphids With Insecticide Safe For Humans
Medical scientists are focusing their expertise on a pest that destroys soybeans. The goal is to develop an insecticide that is safe for humans but will kill the soybean aphid,...
When fish farms are built along the coast, where does the waste go?
If you are a fish eater, it's likely that the salmon you had for dinner was not caught in the wild, but was instead grown in a mesh cage submerged...
A new gene silencing platform -- silence is golden
A team of researchers led by Rutgers' Samuel Gunderson has developed a novel gene silencing platform with very significant improvements over existing RNAi approaches. This may enable the development and...