Biology articles

Mitochondrial 'bottleneck' cracked: new hope for disease prediction
Scientists have shown for the first time how a particular family of diseases are passed down from mother to child and how this can lead to the severity of the disease differing widely.

Unravelling the north west's viking past
The blood of the Vikings is still coursing through the veins of men living in the North West of England — according to a new study which has been just published.

Tracking gliding behavior in the 'flying' lemur
The "flying" lemur of Malaysia is the champion of all gliding mammals, able to drop from the forest canopy, glide more than the length of two football fields, execute 90-degree turns and then alight gently on a tree trunk.

Evolving complexity out of 'junk DNA'
'Junk DNA' could hold the secret of the evolutionary origin of complex animals, according to new research from Dartmouth College (NH, USA) and the University of Bristol (UK).

Humans inhabited new world's doorstep for 20,000 years
The human journey from Asia to the New World was interrupted by a 20,000-year layover in Beringia, a once-habitable region that today lies submerged under the icy waters of the Bering Strait.

Zoologists challenge longstanding theory that 'eyespots' mimic the eyes of predators' enemies
Circular markings on creatures such as butterflies are effective against predators because they are conspicuous features, not because they mimic the eyes of the predators' own enemies, according to research published in the journal, Behavioral Ecology. Zoologists based at the University of Cambridge challenge the 150-year-old theory about why these markings are effective against predators.

Ancient 'out of Africa' migration left stamp on european genetic diversity
Human migration from Africa to Europe more than 30,000 years ago appears to have left a mark on the genes of Europeans today.

The history of central african pygmy and bantu-speaking farmer populations
Researchers from CNRS and Institut Pasteur, working with an interdisciplinary and international team, have studied the demographic and genetic history of Central African Pygmee and Bantus-speaking farmer populations.

Vikings did not dress the way we thought
Vivid colors, flowing silk ribbons, and glittering bits of mirrors - the Vikings dressed with considerably more panache than we previously thought. The men were especially vain, and the women dressed provocatively, but with the advent of Christianity, fashions changed, according to Swedish archeologist Annika Larsson.

Animal magnetism provides a sense of direction
They may not be on most people's list of most attractive species, but bats definitely have animal magnetism. Researchers from the Universities of Leeds and Princeton have discovered that bats use a magnetic substance in their body called magnetite as an 'internal compass' to help them navigate.

How roots find a route
Scientists at the John Innes Centre in Norwich have discovered how roots find their way past obstacles to grow through soil. The discovery, described in the forthcoming edition of Science, also explains how germinating seedlings penetrate the soil without pushing themselves out as they burrow.

Human family tree mapped out in new detail by stanford genetic sequencing effort
Stanford University researchers have created the highest resolution map of human genetic diversity to date, providing insight into how groups of people throughout the world are related and adding weight to previous theories that humans originated from Africa.

Washington university unveils draft sequence of corn genome
A team of scientists led by Washington University in St. Louis has begun to unlock the genetic secrets of corn, a crop vital to U.S. agriculture. The researchers have completed a working draft of the corn genome, an accomplishment that should accelerate efforts to develop better crop varieties to meet society's growing demands for food, livestock feed and fuel.

Honey bee invaders exploit the genetic resources of their predecessors
Like any species that aspires to rule the world, the honey bee, Apis mellifera, invades new territories in repeated assaults. A new study demonstrates that when these honey bees arrive in a place that has already been invaded, the newcomers benefit from the genetic endowment of their predecessors.

Peaceful, egalitarian hunter-gatherers retain traditions despite homeland loss
In the 1970s, the Batek people of the Malaysian rainforest were living much as their ancestors probably had for thousands of years: in groups of families, moving every few weeks to a fresh spot from which to hunt small game, dig tubers, and gather forest products for trade with outsiders.

Bacterial 'battle for survival' leads to new antibiotic
War may actually be healthy for you (war between two microscopic bugs, that is). MIT biologists have provoked soil-dwelling bacteria into producing a new type of antibiotic by pitting them against another strain of bacteria in a battle for survival.

Hibernation-like behavior in antarctic fish -- on ice for winter
Scientists have discovered an Antarctic fish species that adopts a winter survival strategy similar to hibernation. Reporting in the journal PLoS ONE, the online journal from the Public Library of Science, scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the University of Birmingham reveal, for the first time, that the Antarctic 'cod' Notothenia coriiceps effectively 'puts itself on ice' to survive the long Antarctic winter.

Technology uses live cells to detect food-borne pathogens, toxins
Researchers have developed a new technology that can simultaneously screen thousands of samples of food or water for several dangerous food-borne pathogens in one to two hours.

Team probes mysteries of oceanic bacteria
Microbes living in the oceans play a critical role in regulating Earth's environment, but very little is known about their activities and how they work together to help control natural cycles of water, carbon and energy.

Tiny polyps need two kinds of carbon to survive coral bleaching
How well ocean reefs recover from the growing damage caused by warming sea temperatures depends both on how much the tiny coral polyps can eat, and how healthy they can keep the microscopic algae that live inside their bodies.