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| Biology articles |
Looking different helps animals to survive
In the animal kingdom, everything is not as it seems. Individuals of the same species can look very different from each other - what biologists term 'polymorphism.'
Warmer environment means shorter lives for cold-blooded animals
Temperature explains much of why cold-blooded organisms such as fish, amphibians, crustaceans, and lizards live longer at higher latitudes than at lower latitudes, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) online. Assistant Professor Dr. Stephan Munch and Ph.D. candidate Santiago Salinas, both of Stony Brook University's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS), found that for a diverse range of species whose body temperatures vary with the temperature of their surroundings, ambient temperature is the dominant factor controlling geographic variation of lifespan within species.
Study finds human population expanded during late stone age
Genetic evidence is revealing that human populations began to expand in size in Africa during the Late Stone Age approximately 40,000 years ago. A research team led by Michael F. Hammer (Arizona Research Laboratory's Division of Biotechnology at the University of Arizona) found that sub-Saharan populations increased in size well before the development of agriculture. This research supports the hypothesis that population growth played a significant role in the evolution of human cultures in the Late Pleistocene. The team's findings are published in the online peer reviewed journal PLoS ONE on July 29.
Monarch butterflies with a heavy load
Martin Wikelski, biologist at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell and professor at the University of Konstanz, has, on a number of occasions, used transmitters to observe various animal species, such as birds, tortoises, dragonflies and bats, on their migratory paths. However, the migration of monarch butterflies, which cover thousands of kilometres every year on their journey between the Great Lakes in Canada and Mexico, has never before been studied using this technology. A team from National Geographic accompanied the scientists to document the tracking process for their film "The Science of Migration", which is planned for release in 2010.
After dinosaurs, mammals rise but their genomes get smaller
Evidence buried in the chromosomes of animals and plants strongly suggests only one group -- mammals -- have seen their genomes shrink after the dinosaurs' extinction. What's more, that trend continues today, say Indiana University Bloomington scientists in the first issue of a new journal, Genome Biology and Evolution.
Ants more rational than humans
In a study released online on July 22 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, researchers at Arizona State University and Princeton University show that ants can accomplish a task more rationally than our - multimodal, egg-headed, tool-using, bipedal, opposing-thumbed - selves.
Orangutans unique in movement through tree-tops
Scientists at the Universities of Liverpool and Birmingham have found that orang-utans move through the canopy of tropical forests in a completely different way to all other tree-dwelling primates.
All of us - from slime mould to MPS - are born to cheat
Organisms are genetically programmed to cheat the system and have to be policed to stop them putting their needs ahead of society and thus threatening its survival, say scientists.
Invigorated muscle structure allows geese to brave the Himalayas
A higher density of blood vessels and other unique physiological features in the flight muscles of bar-headed geese allow them to do what even the most elite of human athletes struggle to accomplish - exert energy at high altitudes, according to a new UBC study.
Scientists unlock optical & chemical secrets of jeweled beetles
A small green beetle may have some interesting lessons to teach scientists about optics and liquid crystals-complex mechanisms the insect uses to create a shell so strikingly beautiful that for centuries it was used in jewelry.
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Venomous sea snakes play heads or tails with their predators
In a deadly game of heads or tails venomous sea snakes in the Pacific and Indian Oceans deceive their predators into believing they have two heads, claims research published in Marine Ecology.
'Green' energy from algae
In view of the shortage of petrochemical resources and climate change, development of CO2-neutral sustainable fuels is one of the most urgent challenges of our times. Energy plants like rape or oil palm are being discussed fervently, as they may also be used for food production. Hence, cultivation of microalgae may contribute decisively to tomorrow's energy supply. For energy production from microalgae, KIT scientists are developing closed photo-bioreactors and novel cell disruption methods.
UF scientists program blood stem cells to become vision cells
University of Florida researchers were able to program bone marrow stem cells to repair damaged retinas in mice, suggesting a potential treatment for one of the most common causes of vision loss in older people.
Unlocking the key to human fertility
BBSRC-funded scientists at University of Leeds and University of Bradford have discovered a unique 'DNA signature' in human sperm, which may act as a key that unlocks an egg's fertility and triggers new life.
Rodent size linked to human population and climate change
You probably hadn't noticed -- but the head shape and overall size of rodents has been changing over the past century. A University of Illinois at Chicago ecologist has tied these changes to human population density and climate change.
Natural born killers - How the body's frontline immune cells decide which cells to destroy
The mechanism used by 'Natural Killer' immune cells in the human body to distinguish between diseased cells, which they are meant to destroy, and normal cells, which they are meant to leave alone, is revealed in new detail in research published today in PLoS Biology.
Stanford professor sequences his entire genome at low cost, with small team
The first few times that scientists mapped out all the DNA in a human being in 2001, each effort cost hundreds of millions of dollars and involved more than 250 people. Even last year, when the lowest reported cost was $250,000, genome sequencing still required almost 200 people. In a paper published online Aug. 9 by Nature Biotechnology, a Stanford University professor reports sequencing his entire genome for less than $50,000 and with a team of just two other people.
Parasite causes zombie ants to die in an ideal spot
A study in the September issue of The American Naturalist describes new details about a fungal parasite that coerces ants into dying in just the right spot-one that is ideal for the fungus to grow and reproduce. The study, led David P. Hughes of Harvard University, shows just how precisely the fungus manipulates the behavior of its hapless hosts.
Hurricane seasons are more active
For many Americans who live on the Atlantic coast, Andrew, Ivan and Katrina are more than just names--they are reminders of the devastating impact of cyclonic activity in the region during hurricane season. If it seems like hurricane seasons have been more active in recent years, you're on to something. According to a paper published in the August 13 issue of Nature, the frequency and strength of these powerful storms has grown in recent decades.
Early human hunters had fewer meat-sharing rituals
A University of Arizona anthropologist has discovered that humans living at a Paleolithic cave site in central Israel between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago were as successful at big-game hunting as were later stone-age hunters at the site, but that the earlier humans shared meat differently.
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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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