http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/biology/ Biology news. Full-text biology news, articles and photos from research institutes around the world. Updated daily. en-us Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:05:02 EST Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:05:02 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/biology/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124204320.htm The world's largest species of monkey "chooses" mates with genes that are different from their own to guarantee healthy and strong offspring, according to a new research study. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124204320.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124140951.htm Scientists have identified a new class of therapeutic agents found naturally in soy that can prevent and possibly treat colon cancer, the third most deadly form of cancer. Sphingadienes are natural lipid molecules found in soy that research shows may be the key to fighting colon cancer. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124140951.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124121427.htm The atomic-level action of a remarkable class of ring-shaped protein motors has been uncovered using a state-of-the-art protein crystallography beamline at the Advanced Light Source. These protein motors play pivotal roles in gene expression and replication, and are vital to the survival of all biological cells, as well as infectious agents, such as the human papillomavirus, which has been linked to cervical cancer. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124121427.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091114080604.htm Meiosis -- the pairing and recombination of chromosomes, followed by segregation of half to each egg or sperm cell -- is a major crossroads in all organisms reproducing sexually. Yet, how the cell precisely choreographs these chromosomal interactions is a long-standing question. New findings show that the cell's cytoskeleton, which moves things around in the cell, plays a critical role, essentially reaching into the nucleus to bring chromosome pairs together in preparation for recombination and segregation. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091114080604.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124113611.htm Scientists have crystallized a protein that may help gut bacteria bind to the gastrointestinal tract. The protein could be used by probiotic producers to identify strains that are likely to be of real benefit to people. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124113611.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120124829.htm A key question in the origin of biological molecules like RNA and DNA is how they first came together billions of years ago from simple precursors. Now, researchers have reconstructed one of the earliest evolutionary steps yet: generating long chains of RNA from individual subunits using nothing but warm water. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120124829.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091122161748.htm A butterfly's proboscis looks like a straw -- long, slender and used for sipping -- but it works more like a paper towel, according to researchers. They hope to borrow the tricks of this piece of insect anatomy to make small probes that can sample the fluid inside of cells. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091122161748.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091117094844.htm In order to effectively fight pathogens, even at remote areas of the human body, immune cells have to move quickly and in a flexible manner. Scientists have now deciphered the mechanism that illustrates how these mobile cells move on diverse surfaces. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091117094844.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091122095419.htm We've all read studies about the health benefits of having a life partner. The same thing is true at the molecular level, where amino acids known as cysteines are much more vulnerable to damage when single than when paired up with other cysteines. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091122095419.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123094139.htm Researchers recently offered the sharpest-yet picture of how core biochemical pathways in skeletal muscle cells and fat cells are altered in people who suffer from insulin resistance -- a primary defect in type 2 diabetes and obesity. Taking a systems biology approach, the bioengineers and medical researchers also determined how a common class of drugs for treating insulin resistance -- TZDs -- alter these same core pathways. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123094139.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091125134701.htm When cells are confronted with an invading virus or bacteria or exposed to an irritating chemical, they protect themselves by going off their DNA recipe and inserting the wrong amino acid into new proteins to defend them against damage, scientists have discovered. These "regulated errors" comprise a novel non-genetic mechanism by which cells can rapidly make important proteins more resistant to attack when stressed, said one of the researchers. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091125134701.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091125134653.htm It seems obvious that naturally waking up from sleep and being startled by something in the environment are two very different emotional states. However, the neuroscience that underlies these different forms of arousal has, for the most part, remained a mystery. Now, new research demonstrates that there are at least two completely separate and independent forms of arousal in fruit flies. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091125134653.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091125135136.htm Photosynthetic organisms need to cope with a wide range of light intensities, which can change over timescales of seconds to minutes. Too much light can damage the photosynthetic machinery and cause cell death. Scientists have found that specific proteins in algae can act as a safety valve to dissipate excess absorbed light energy before it can wreak havoc in cells. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091125135136.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091125135121.htm Mammals have evolved a complex system for controlling bone remodeling. Babies require calcium for healthy bones and they obtain it from their mother's milk. Nursing mothers release calcium from their bones. Surprisingly, however, the same system also plays a key part in the control of fever and of female body temperature. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091125135121.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091125134703.htm Scientists have discovered how the bacterial immune system works, and the finding could lead to new classes of targeted antibiotics, new tools to study gene function in microorganisms and more stable bacterial cultures used by food and biotechnology industries to make products such as yogurt and cheese. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091125134703.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141032.htm Leaf-cutter ants, which cultivate fungus for food, have many remarkable qualities. Here's a new one to add to the list: the ant farmers, like their human counterparts, depend on nitrogen-fixing bacteria to make their gardens grow. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141032.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118120307.htm Not just birds, but also a few species of bats face a long journey every year. Researchers have studied the migratory behavior of the largest extant family of bats, the so-called "Vespertilionidae" with the help of mathematical models. They discovered that the migration over short as well as long distances of various kinds of bats evolved independently within the family. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118120307.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123132635.htm Two new studies reveal in unprecedented detail how the ribosome interacts with other molecules to assemble new proteins and guide them toward their destination in biological cells. The studies used molecular dynamics flexible fitting to examine the interaction of the ribosome with two prominent molecular partners. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123132635.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124113608.htm Rocket science is opening new doors to understanding how sounds associated with Navy sonar might affect the hearing of a marine mammal -- or if they hear it at all. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124113608.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114650.htm A novel approach to classify the gender of six-week-old turkey poults could save millions of male chicks from being killed shortly after birth, according to researchers. Their use of infrared spectroscopy to determine the gender of young birds shows that it is a fast and accurate method. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114650.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123171416.htm A new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society says that western lowland gorillas living in a large swamp in the Republic of Congo -- part of the "mother lode" of more than 125,000 gorillas discovered last year -- are becoming increasingly threatened by growing humans activity in the region. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123171416.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114648.htm A new species of chameleon has been discovered in a threatened forest in Tanzania. Researchers first spotted the animal while surveying monkeys in the Magombera Forest when they disturbed a twig snake eating one. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114648.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114646.htm With Bt crop acreage increasing worldwide, incorporating enhanced understanding of observed patterns of field-evolved resistance into future resistance management strategies can help to minimize the drawbacks and maximize the benefits of current and future generations of transgenic crops. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114646.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091125094321.htm When you eat may be just as vital to your health as what you eat, found researchers. New experiments in mice revealed that the daily waxing and waning of thousands of genes in the liver -- the body's metabolic clearinghouse -- is mostly controlled by food intake and not by the body's circadian clock as conventional wisdom had it. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091125094321.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120094743.htm Bacteria possess an ingenious mechanism for preventing oxygen from harming the building blocks of the cell, according to new research. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120094743.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116103838.htm Is the indefinite self-renewal of adult cells possible without recourse to stem cell intermediates? Scientists have shown that it is possible, by achieving the ex vivo regeneration of macrophages, specialized cells in the immune system, over several months. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116103838.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091122161742.htm On the skin's surface, bacteria are abundant, diverse and constant, but inflammation is undesirable. New research now shows that the normal bacteria living on the skin surface trigger a pathway that prevents excessive inflammation after injury. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091122161742.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106102954.htm In foods, soil samples or customs checks, plant fragments sometimes need to be quickly identified. The use of DNA "barcodes" to itemize plant biodiversity was proposed during the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Summit. Researchers have now tested this method in the tropical forest. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106102954.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118143217.htm Researchers set out to address a question that has been challenging scientists for years: How does dietary restriction produce protective effects against aging and disease? And the reverse: how does overconsumption accelerate age-related disease? An answer lies in a worm study that examines how the two ends of the spectrum influence biochemical responses. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118143217.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119193933.htm A team of scientists has taken a large step toward unraveling how regulatory proteins control the production of gene products during development and growth. They focused specifically on the complex process of producing red blood cells (erythrocytes). These cells contain large amounts of hemoglobin, a molecule essential for transporting oxygen throughout the body. The research results could help in the development of important new therapies to combat sickle-cell disease. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119193933.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120000553.htm In winemaking, grape juice is turned to wine during the fermentation process by the action of a number of essential beneficial microorganisms -- namely, bacteria. Sometimes, though, harmful bacteria also populate the fermentation vat, spoiling the wine in the process. A researcher in Finland has developed new methods based on DNA identification for rapidly and accurately identifying detrimental lactic acid bacteria and acetic acid bacteria during the earliest stages of the wine fermentation process. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120000553.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114848.htm Two recent studies investigating the use of human umbilical cord blood stem cell (UCB) transplants for lung and heart disorders in animal models found beneficial results. When human UCB-derived mensenchymal cells were transplanted into newborn laboratory rats with induced oxygen-deprived injury, the effects of the injury lessened. A second study found that UCB mononuclear cells transplanted into sheep with a right ventricular malfunction beneficially altered the malfunction and enhanced diastolic function. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114848.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114815.htm The time of day matters to forest trees dealing with drought, according to a new article. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114815.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120000437.htm Food production of modern human societies is mostly based on large-scale monoculture crops, but it now appears that advanced insect societies have the same practice. Our societies took just ten thousand years of (mainly cultural) evolution to adopt this habit and we are far from convinced that it is sustainable. Farming ants and termites had tens of millions of years to evolve their fungus farming systems and here monocultures are apparently evolutionary stable. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120000437.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119210836.htm A new treatment route for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and its human form Creutzfeldt Jakob disease could be a step closer based on new results from scientists in the UK. The team has found that a protein called Glypican-1 plays a key role in the development of BSE. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119210836.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112095044.htm Scientists have discovered how certain bacteria such as Escherichia coli have evolved to capture rare sugars from their environment giving them an evolutionary advantage in naturally competitive environments like the human gut. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112095044.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106145254.htm Plasmids, which are DNA molecules capable of independent replication in cells, have played an important role in gene technology. Researchers have now demonstrated that plasmid-based methods, which had been limited to single-cell organisms such as bacteria and yeasts, can be extended to mosses, opening the door to applications of a number of powerful techniques in plant research. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106145254.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119085216.htm Bird flu viruses would have to make at least two simultaneous genetic mutations before they could be transmitted readily from human to human, according to new research. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119085216.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141217.htm Since the discovery in 2007 that a component of human semen called SEVI boosts infectivity of the virus that causes AIDS, researchers have been trying to learn more about SEVI and how it works, in hopes of thwarting its infection-promoting activity. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141217.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119193636.htm In recent years, scientists have decoded the DNA of humans and a menagerie of creatures but none with genes as complex as a stalk of corn, the latest genome to be unraveled. A team of scientists has published the completed corn genome -- an accomplishment that will speed efforts to develop better crop varieties to meet the world's growing demands for food, livestock feed and fuel. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119193636.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119111413.htm Scientists have described for the first time how the telomeres and adjacent sequences of the oyster fungus are organized. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119111413.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116165741.htm Scientists have discovered that a dietary antioxidant found in such vegetables as broccoli and cauliflower protects cells from damage caused by chemicals generated during the body's inflammatory response to infection and injury. The finding has implications for such inflammation-based disorders as cystic fibrosis, diabetes, heart disease and neurodegeneration. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116165741.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119135642.htm Most countries throughout the world participate in the $40-million-per-year culinary trade of frog legs in some way, with 75 percent of frog legs consumed in France, Belgium and the United States. Scientists have found that this trade is a potential carrier of pathogens deadly to amphibians. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119135642.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119101048.htm Rodent, reptile and ant lion species behave differently on either side of the Israel-Jordan border. Researchers found that Israeli gerbils are more cautious than their Jordanian friends, and the funnel-digging ant lion population in Israel is unmistakably larger than in Jordan. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119101048.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119212100.htm A new study suggests that naturally occurring bacteria on the skin of salamanders could help protect other amphibians, including some species of endangered frogs, from a lethal skin disease. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119212100.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141029.htm Roughly 15,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age, North America's vast assemblage of large animals -- including such iconic creatures as mammoths, mastodons, camels, horses, ground sloths and giant beavers -- began their precipitous slide to extinction. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141029.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119135636.htm New DNA barcoding shows that nearly a third of the tuna plated in sushi restaurants was bluefin -- even if it was not labeled bluefin on the menu. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119135636.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029161526.htm Scientists have published the largest nematode phylogenetic tree up until now. It contains over 1,200 species and is entirely based on the analysis of DNA sequence data. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029161526.htm