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| Biology articles |
Fish skin makes fish shiny
Researchers from Israel have unveiled the reason why fish's skin reflects light so well. It is not only because of the crystals on their skin, but also because of their form. The ESRF helped unveil the structure of biogenic crystals grown by carp showing that it is identical to the crystal structure of anhydrous guanine.
Team finds key mechanism of DDT resistance in malarial mosquitoes
University of Illinois researchers have identified a key detoxifying protein in Anopheles mosquitoes that metabolizes DDT, a synthetic insecticide used since World War II to control the mosquitoes that spread malaria.
Aquatic insect 'family trees' provide clues about sensitivity to pollution
A North Carolina State University study published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that examining an insect's "family tree" might help predict a "cousin" insect's level of tolerance to pollutants, and therefore could be a reliable way to understand why certain insect species thrive or suffer under specific ecological conditions.
Breaking new boundaries
A team led by female scientists at the Universities of Bristol and Cambridge has developed an exciting new technique which may lead to a greater understanding of how drugs get in and out of the cells in our bodies. The method identifies the structures that guard the entrance and exits to cells.
Possible new approach to purifying drinking water
A genetic tool used by medical researchers may also be used in a novel approach to remove harmful microbes and viruses from drinking water.
Memory in honeybees: what the right and left antenna tell the left and right brain
It is widely known that the right and left hemispheres of the brain perform different tasks. Lesions to the left hemisphere typically bring impairments in language production and comprehension, while lesions to the right hemisphere give rise to deficits in the visual-spatial perception, such as the inability to recognize familiar faces.
Early origins of maize in Mexico
The ancestors of maize originally grew wild in Mexico and were radically different from the plant that is now one of the most important crops in the world. While the evidence is clear that maize was first domesticated in Mexico, the time and location of the earliest domestication and dispersal events are still in dispute. Now, in addition to more traditional macrobotanical and archeological remains, scientists are using new genetic and microbotanical techniques to distinguish domesticated maize from its wild relatives as well as to identify ancient sites of maize agriculture. These new analyses suggest that maize may have been domesticated in Mexico as early as 10,000 years ago.
Arms race against junk DNA shapes genome evolution
Scientists at Georgia Tech have found supporting evidence for a theory they first created in the 1990s, that many of the components that make up our genes are the result of an arms race between the coding and the non-coding parts of the genome.
Unheard of life history for a vertebrate
There is a newly discovered life history among the 28,300 species of known tetrapods, or four-legged animals with backbones. A chameleon from arid southwestern Madagascar spends up to three-quarters of its life in an egg. Even more unusual, life after hatching is a mere 4 to 5 months. No other known four-legged animal has such a rapid growth rate and such a short life span. The new research is reported in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Species have come and gone at different rates than previously believed
Diversity among the ancestors of such marine creatures as clams, sand dollars and lobsters showed only a modest rise beginning 144 million years ago with no clear trend afterwards, according to an international team of researchers. This contradicts previous work showing dramatic increases beginning 248 million years ago and may shed light on future diversity.
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Genetic study reshuffles bird family tree
Dinosaurs developed feathers some 65 to 100 million years ago and became birds, with the ostriches and emus among the first to evolve, and the ducks and chickens next.
Crossed (evolutionary) signals?
What do humans and single-celled choanoflagellates have in common? More than you'd think. New research into the choanoflagellate genome shows these ancient organisms have similar levels of proteins that cells in more complex organisms, including humans, use to communicate with each other.
Superfast muscles in songbirds
Certain songbirds can contract their vocal muscles 100 times faster than humans can blink an eye - placing the birds with a handful of animals that have evolved superfast muscles, University of Utah researchers found.
Forest songsters evolved in an early burst of innovation
Evolution seems to have happened in fits and starts -- at least that's what the fossil record shows. From trilobites to pterodactyls, ammonites to Archaeopteryx, scientists find the same pattern: brief bursts of innovation in which a single species or branch on the tree of life turns into a cluster of new twigs, then lapses into long stretches ruled by the status quo.
Caltech bioengineers develop microscope on a chip
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have turned science fiction into reality with their development of a super-compact high-resolution microscope, small enough to fit on a finger tip. This "microscopic microscope" operates without lenses but has the magnifying power of a top-quality optical microscope, can be used in the field to analyze blood samples for malaria or check water supplies for giardia and other pathogens, and can be mass-produced for around $10.
Researchers determine which genetic markers can distinguish plant species
Scientists are a step closer to differentiating the more than 300,000 species of plants in the world, thanks to new molecular work from a Canadian team of researchers from the Universities of Guelph, British Columbia and Toronto.
Lessons from the lowly locust
From one evolutionary standpoint we are closer to the lowly locust, or grasshopper, than to more advanced insects like flies and moths, a new Queen's University study shows.
Stanford study finds molecule triggers hair growth in mouse embryos
Comb-overs might not be the only solution for those who are losing their hair. A molecule that prompts hair follicle development in utero might one day be used to treat hair loss or combat excess hair growth.
Spiders who eat together, stay together
The ability to work together and capture larger prey has allowed social spiders to stretch the laws of nature and reach enormous colony sizes, UBC zoologists have found.
Possible new approach to purifying drinking water
A genetic tool used by medical researchers may also be used in a novel approach to remove harmful microbes and viruses from drinking water.
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| Quotes | Ive always wanted to be a scientist. That way, I could get a bunch of grants and do research into whether money can really buy happiness.
Kyannke.
Ive always wanted to be somebody, but I see now I should have been more specific.
Lily Tomlin |
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