http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (Phys.org)—While some advanced humanoid robots already look eerily lifelike, robots in the future may actually become partly alive. Currently, researchers are working on integrating living cells and other biological components with electronic components in an attempt to create bio-hybrid robots. These robots could act autonomously, imitate some animal behaviors, and have the ability to self-replicate some of their parts. http://phys.org/news273399925.html Biology Thu, 29 Nov 2012 09:30:01 EST news273399925 (PhysOrg.com) -- Cancer cells must prepare for travel before invading new tissues, but new Cornell research has found a possible way to stop these cells from ever hitting the road. http://phys.org/news249115368.html Chemistry Wed, 22 Feb 2012 06:42:57 EST news249115368 A new study sheds light on why individuals who inherit a particular family of mutations have a high risk of developing a very aggressive form of breast cancer. The research, published by Cell Press on February 4th in the journal Cell Stem Cell, shows that breast tissue cells from these individuals make abnormal cell-fate decisions even before cancer develops and provides exciting new insights into the mechanisms behind one of the most lethal types of breast cancer. http://phys.org/news215960299.html Medicine & Health Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:30:09 EST news215960299 (PhysOrg.com) -- Every day, about 10 billion cells in a human body commit suicide. Cells infected by virus, that are transformed or otherwise dysfunctional altruistically sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Now, new imaging experiments have revealed a previously unseen order to this process, showing closely related cells dying in synchrony as a wave of destruction sweeps across their mitochondria, snuffing out the main source of energy that keeps cells alive. http://phys.org/news186412550.html Biology Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:16:07 EST news186412550 Biologists attribute variations among individual organisms to differences in genes or environment, or both. But a new study of nematode worms with identical genes, raised in identical environments, has revealed another factor: chance. http://phys.org/news185723500.html Biology Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:52:11 EST news185723500 If bad bacteria lurk in your system, chances are they will bump into the immune system's protective cells whose job is gobbling germs. The catch is that these do-gooders, known as macrophages, ingest and destroy only those infectious invaders that they can securely hook and reel in. http://phys.org/news185654404.html Medicine & Health Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:40:17 EST news185654404 A study conducted by Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland scientists identifies 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 (SDs) are natural lipid molecules found in soy that research shows may be the key to fighting colon cancer. http://phys.org/news178293535.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:10:01 EST news178293535 A rare form of testicular tumour has provided scientists with new insights into how genetic changes (mutations) arise in our children. The research, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Danish Cancer Society, could explain why certain diseases are more common in the children of older fathers. http://phys.org/news175702626.html Medicine & Health Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:17:49 EST news175702626 Plant cells communicate via microscopic channels called plasmodesmata that are embedded in their cell walls. For the stem cells in the plants' growing tips, called "meristems," the plasmodesmata are lifelines, allowing nutrients and genetic instructions for growth to flow in. http://phys.org/news154101168.html Biology Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:53:14 EST news154101168