Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Observatory: Birds Rely on Surface Tension to Eat Dinner
Some small shorebirds peck at water to eat, but the question was how the droplets defy gravity to get into the mouth.
"Reverse Evolution" Found in Seattle Fish
After years of hiding in pollution, fish in a Washington State lake may have "evolved in reverse" once the water cleared up, a study finds.
New Tool To Understand Evolution Of Multi-domain Genes Developed
Computational biologists have for the first time tackled the dilemma of how to study the ancestry of multidomain genes, which encode an important class of proteins called multidomain proteins that...
Geneticists Trace The Evolution Of St. Louis Encephalitis
Researchers have sequenced the entire genetic code of 23 strains of Flavivirus, the virus that causes St. Louis encephalitis, to understand its evolutionary history. This study, published in Molecular Phylogenetics...
Immune Cells Kill Foes By Disrupting Mitochondria Two Ways
T cells can initiate cellular suicide, also known as apoptosis, by a previously unrecognized pathway that starts with the destruction of a key enzyme in mitochondria, the power plant of...
Gene Linked To Vertebral Defects In Patient Populations Identified
Genes known to cause spinal mutations in chick and mouse model systems also play an important role in human patients with congenital vertebral abnormalities. Working with samples from 31 patients...
Research reveals workings of anti-HIV drugs
Using ingenious molecular espionage, scientists have found how a single key enzyme, seemingly the Swiss Army knife in HIV’s toolbox, differentiates and dynamically binds both DNA and RNA as part of the virus’s...
Novel enzyme inhibitor paves way for new cancer drug
Combining natural organic atoms with metal complexes, scientists at The Wistar Institute have developed a new type of enzyme inhibitor capable of blocking a biochemical pathway that plays a key...
Inject rational argument into embryo debate, says expert
In the week that the UK parliament debates controversial amendments to the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, Professor John Burn asks at what point a cell becomes a human.
Simple Artificial Cell Created From Scratch To Study Cell Complexity
Researchers have developed a simple artificial cell with which to investigate the organization and function of two of the most basic cell components: the cell membrane and the cytoplasm --...
New SKorean law tightens rules on cloning
South Korea's parliament on Friday passed a law to regulate research into cloning, following a scandal in which a now-disgraced expert claimed to have made the first human clone stem...
An ancient protein balances gene activity and silences foreign DNA in bacteria
Compared to humans, bacteria have a much tidier genome. The tiny microorganisms pack their genes closely together, and don’t carry around a lot of extraneous DNA, so-called junk DNA that...
Bears And Hibernation: New Insights Into Metabolism In Extreme Conditions
Due to their ability to produce a potent inhibitor of protein degradation, hibernating bears do not lose muscle mass after long periods of hibernation. The team researched for the first...
'Mitochondrial Eve' Research: Humanity Was Genetically Divided For 100,000 Years
Humanity was genetically divided for as much as 100,000 years, according to new findings. Climate change, reduction in populations and harsh conditions may have caused and maintained the separation.
Wildlife populations 'plummeting'
Between a quarter and a third of the world’s wildlife has been lost since 1970, says the Living Planet Index.
El Nino may have helped Magellan cross the Pacific
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The El Nino phenomenon that has puzzled climate scientists in recent decades may have assisted the first trip around the world nearly 500 years ago....
The Singularity: A Special Report
If you're waiting to upload your consciousness into a computer, don't hold your breath; the rapture of the geeks could be a long time in coming.
Adult Cells Steal Trick from Cancer to Become Stem Cell-Like [News]
In a boon to cancer treatment and regenerative medicine, scientists have discovered that a trick used by tumor cells that allows them to migrate around the body can cause normal,...
First evidence of native dendritic cells in brain
In a finding that has the potential to change the way researchers think about the brain, scientists at Rockefeller University have found dendritic cells where they`ve never been seen before:...
Victimless Leather?
The Museum of Modern Art in New York has had to kill one of the works currently on display in its recent Design and the Elastic mind show. Literally. The...
Not Your Grandfather's Transcriptome--Plant Biologists Discover Unexpected Proteins Affecting Small RNAs
Now that high school biology students can recite that genes are made of DNA, which is transcribed into messenger RNA (mRNA), which is then translated into protein, along comes a...
Larger horns a gamble for young Soay sheep
When it comes to winning mates, larger horns are an asset for male Soay sheep. But those that grow them may be putting their young lives on the line, according...
Hairy Ants Take On Texas
The newly recognized species is believed to have arrived in a cargo shipment through the port of Houston. Scientists are not sure where the ants came from, but their cousins,...
Did animals predict China's earthquake?
First, the water level in a pond inexplicably plunged. Then, thousands of toads appeared on streets in a nearby province. Finally, just hours before China's worst earthquake in three decades,...
Want to lose weight? Study suggests a liquid lunch
A "liquid lunch" could no longer mean a few pints down the pub, but instead a healthy way to lose weight, according to a study presented Thursday by scientists from...
Green Tea Compounds Beat Obstructive Sleep Apnea-related Brain Deficits, Study Shows
Chemicals found in green tea may be able to stave off the cognitive deficits that occur with obstructive sleep apnea, according to a new study in the Journal of Respiratory...
Hope of first owl chicks in years
Male and female snowy owl are spotted on an island, raising expectations they will be the UK's first breeding pair in 30 years.
Indonesia to provide bird flu data online
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Indonesia's health minister says she will give all genetic information about her country's bird flu virus to a new global database....