Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Fungus enhances susceptibility of resistant malaria mosquito to pesticides
In areas where malaria mosquitoes have become resistant to chemical pesticides, mosquito-killing fungi can be an effective tool. Fungal spores can effectively infect and kill malaria mosquitoes, even those that...
Superoxides Harm Muscle Tissue And May Lead To Age-related Muscle Decline
A new article shows that about 3 percent of the air we breathe gets converted into harmful superoxides, which ultimately harm our muscles by leading to the creation of a...
UAB research team saves turtle species on the brink
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) researchers exploring strategies for conserving the Diamondback Terrapin along Alabama's Dauphin Island coastline are working to keep the once-celebrated turtle off the endangered species...
All tied up: Tethered protein provides long-sought answer
The tools of biochemistry have finally caught up with lactose repressor protein. Biologists from Rice University in Houston and the University of Florence in Italy this week published new results...
Frog fungus hammering biodiversity of communities
Sometimes to see something properly, you have to stand farther back. This is true of Chuck Close portraits where a patchwork of many small faces changes into one giant face...
A Flash Of Light Turns Graphene Into A Biosensor
After learning how DNA interacts with the novel nanomaterial graphene, researchers propose a DNA-graphene nanoscaffold be used as a biosensor to diagnose diseases, detect toxins in tainted food and detect...
Explaining Why Pruning Encourages Plants To Thrive
Scientists have shown that the main shoot dominates a plant's growth principally because it was there first, rather than due to its position at the top of the plant. The...
Gene Variant Linked To Glaucoma Identified
Scientists have discovered gene variants for glaucoma in a black population. The finding could lead to future treatments or a cure for this disease, which leads to blindness in two...
Computer Model Shows Changes In Brain Mechanisms For Cocaine Addicts
Researchers are utilizing computational models to study how the brain's chemicals and synaptic mechanisms, or connections between neurons, react to cocaine addiction and what this could mean for future therapies.
Ancient And Bizarre Fish Discovered: New Species Of Ghostshark From California And Baja California
Scientists recently named a new species of chimaera, an ancient and bizarre group of fishes distantly related to sharks, from the coast of Southern California and Baja California, Mexico. The...
Weird New Ghostshark Found; Male Has Sex Organ on Head
Flying for years under the scientific radar, the new ghostshark species is among the world's oldest and—and oddest—fish.
Statewide study shows algae toxin a minor threat, say UF experts
(PhysOrg.com) -- A toxin produced by freshwater algae has garnered plenty of media coverage in recent years, but a new University of Florida study shows there`s little cause for concern...
Verizon Wireless and Motorola Introduce the Motorola Entice W766
Verizon Wireless and Motorola today announced the availability of the Motorola Entice W766.
New discovery reveals fate of nanoparticles in human cells
Scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have uncovered what happens to biomimetic nanoparticles when they enter human cells. They found that the important proteins that...
Transhumance helps vulture conservation
Researchers from the University of Segovia and the University of León have shown for the first time the close space-time relationship between the presence of the griffon vulture and transhumant...
Why Fall Colors Are Different in U.S. and Europe
Changes during ice ages might explain fall color differences between European and North American trees.
University of Iowa scientists use blood-brain barrier as therapy delivery system
The blood brain barrier is generally considered an obstacle to delivering therapies from the bloodstream to the brain. However, University of Iowa researchers have discovered a way to turn the...
With Genetic Gift, 2 Monkeys Are Viewing a More Colorful World
Scientists introduced a missing red pigment into the cone cells of the retinas of two male squirrel monkeys.
Lawrence B. Slobodkin, Pioneering Ecologist, Dies at 81
Dr. Slobodkin, a co-author of a seminal paper informally known as “The World Is Green,” is credited with helping to transform ecology by using quantitative data to test models of...
Proposal To Reintroduce Iberian Lynx On Abandoned Agricultural Land
Spanish scientists have developed a model to identify the agricultural areas with the greatest potential for restoring the habitat of the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), which is at risk of...
Experimental Approach May Reverse Rheumatoid Arthritis And Osteoporosis
Researchers have identified a mechanism that may keep a well known signaling molecule from eroding bone and inflaming joints, according to an early study.
Photoswitches Shed Light On Spontaneous Free Swimming In Zebrafish
A new technique employing photoswitches and gene targeting is proving a boon to biologists because it allows researchers to noninvasively turn on small populations of cells as easily as flipping...
Researchers Explain Why Hunger Triggers Infertility
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have long known that calorie restriction increases longevity in animals but at an evolutionary cost - the animals become infertile.
Vital Signs: Awareness: Squeamish? A Nature Video Not to Watch
A wildlife filmmaker’s up-close experience with the botfly.
'Evolutionary forecasting' for drug resistance
Rice University biochemists are developing a system of "evolutionary forecasting" to better understand the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance.
Study finds protein link to fat storage
EDINBURGH, Scotland, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Scottish scientists say they've discovered a protein that's present in all cells in the body could help lead to a better understand of...
Protected birds killed in Malta
The bodies of 150 protected birds are found stashed on the Mediterranean island of Malta as activists search what they call a "major crime scene".
Elephants, Other Iconic Animals Dying in Kenya Drought
Scores of animals are dying of thirst, starvation, and disease amid the country's worst drought in over a decade, conservationists say.