Biology News

When the cell’s two genomes collide Wednesday, February 6, 2013 - 07:51

Plant and animal cells contain two genomes: one in the nucleus and one in the mitochondria. When mutations occur in each, they can become incompatible, leading to disease. To increase understanding of such illnesses, scientists at Brown University and Indiana University have traced one example in fruit flies down to the individual errant nucleotides and the mechanism by which the flies become sick.

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Affectionate, less controlling mothers have strongest relationships with their children Tuesday, February 5, 2013 - 09:28

Researchers long have evaluated the roles parents play in children’s development. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that mothers’ directiveness, the extent to which they try to control the content and pace of young children’s play, varies based on the children’s ages and the mothers’ ethnicities. In addition, the study found that the more directive the mothers were during play, the less engaged children were with them and the more negative emotion the children displayed toward their mothers.

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Grooming Helps Insects Keep Their Senses Sharpened Tuesday, February 5, 2013 - 08:31

In a study that delves into the mechanisms behind this common function, North Carolina State University researchers show that insect grooming – specifically, antennal cleaning – removes both environmental pollutants and chemicals produced by the insects themselves.

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Study Finds Substantial Microorganism Populations in the Upper Troposphere Monday, February 4, 2013 - 12:10

In what is believed to be the first study of its kind, researchers used genomic techniques to document the presence of significant numbers of living microorganisms – principally bacteria – in the middle and upper troposphere, that section of the atmosphere approximately four to six miles above the Earth’s surface.

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Salk scientists use Amazon Cloud to view molecular machinery in remarkable detail Sunday, February 3, 2013 - 14:49

In this week's Nature Methods, Salk researchers share a how-to secret for biologists: code for Amazon Cloud that significantly reduces the time necessary to process data-intensive microscopic images. The method promises to speed research into the underlying causes of disease by making single-molecule microscopy of practical use for more laboratories.

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Owl Mystery Unraveled: Scientists Explain How Bird Can Rotate Its Head Without Cutting Off Blood Supply to Brain Thursday, January 31, 2013 - 15:46

Medical illustrators and neurological imaging experts at Johns Hopkins have figured out how night-hunting owls can almost fully rotate their heads - by as much as 270 degrees in either direction - without damaging the delicate blood vessels in their necks and heads, and without cutting off blood supply to their brains.

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New geology study raises questions about long-held theories of human evolution Thursday, January 31, 2013 - 12:12

While earlier studies on vegetation change through this period relied on the analysis of individual sites throughout the Rift Valley — offering narrow snapshots — Feakins took a look at the whole picture by using a sediment core taken in the Gulf of Aden, where winds funnel and deposit sediment from the entire region. She then cross-referenced her findings with Levin, who compiled data from ancient soil samples collected throughout eastern Africa.

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Epigenetic control of cardiogenesis Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - 12:55

Many different tissues and organs form from pluripotent stem cells during embryonic development. To date it had been known that these processes are controlled by transcription factors for specific tissues. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin, in collaboration with colleagues at MIT and the Broad Institute in Boston, have now been able to demonstrate that RNA molecules, which do not act as templates for protein synthesis, participate in these processes as well.

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