Scientists have long known that control mechanisms known collectively as "epigenetics" play a critical role in human development, but they did not know precisely how alterations in this extra layer of biochemical instructions ...

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

May 09, 2013 5 / 5 (3) 0 |

The impact of industrial fishing on coastal ecosystems has been studied for many years. But how it affects food webs in the open ocean―a vast region that covers almost half of the Earth's surface―has ...

Biology - Ecology

May 13, 2013 5 / 5 (3) 0 |

Washington State University researchers have found they can control one of fruit growers' more severe pests, aphids, with a remarkably benign tool: flowers. The discovery is a boon for organic as well as ...

Biology - Ecology

May 14, 2013 5 / 5 (3) 0

In ancient Greece, the city-states that waited until their own harvest was in before attacking and destroying a rival community's crops often experienced better long-term success.

Biology - Evolution

May 15, 2013 5 / 5 (3) 0 |

(Phys.org) —A new study by scientists in the U.S. and Taiwan has shown that birds have colorful and patterned feathers because of specific cellular interactions involving stem cells rather than through ...

Biology - Plants & Animals

Apr 26, 2013 4.7 / 5 (3) 0 |

(Phys.org) —Proteins, unlike diamonds, aren't forever. And when they wear out, they need to be degraded in the cell back into amino acids, where they will be recycled into new proteins. Researchers at Rockefeller ...

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

Apr 26, 2013 4.7 / 5 (3) 0 |

Federal wildlife officials have drafted plans to lift protections for gray wolves across the Lower 48 states, a move that would end a decades-long effort that has restored the animals but only in parts of ...

Biology - Ecology

Apr 26, 2013 2.3 / 5 (6) 0

Mammalian females ovulate periodically over their reproductive lifetimes, placing significant demands on their ovaries for egg production. Whether mammals generate new eggs in adulthood using stem cells has been a source ...

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

Apr 29, 2013 4.7 / 5 (3) 0 |

A University of Wisconsin-Madison research group has converted skin cells from people and monkeys into a cell that can form a wide variety of nervous-system cells—without passing through the do-it-all stage called the induced ...

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

May 02, 2013 4.7 / 5 (3) 0 |

(Phys.org) —One of the biggest threats facing amphibian species is the disease chytridiomycosis, which is caused by a fungus known as Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). An understanding of the evolut ...

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

May 07, 2013 4.7 / 5 (3) 0 |

(Phys.org) —As the U.S. Supreme Court moves closer to a decision this summer in the landmark gene patent case against Myriad Genetics, a study, led by Colorado State University, is shedding light on what ...

Biology - Biotechnology

May 10, 2013 4.7 / 5 (3) 0 |

(Phys.org) —It's a familiar scenario – a patient receives a medical implant and days later, the body attacks the artificial valve or device, causing complications to an already compromised system.

Biology - Biotechnology

May 14, 2013 4.7 / 5 (3) 0 |

During the late Pleistocene, a remarkably diverse assemblage of large-bodied mammals inhabited the "mammoth steppe," a cold and dry yet productive environment that extended from western Europe through northern Asia and across ...

Biology - Ecology

May 08, 2013 4.3 / 5 (3) 0 |

Once introduced for biological pest control, Asian lady beetle Harmonia axyridis populations have been increasing uncontrollably in the US and Europe since the turn of the millennium. The species has been p ...

Biology - Ecology

May 16, 2013 4.3 / 5 (3) 0 |

Genomic analyses suggest that patterns of genetic diversity which indicate population movement may not be as ancient as previously believed, but may be attributable to recent events. This study published in BioMed Central's ...

Biology - Plants & Animals

May 20, 2013 4.3 / 5 (3) 0 |