A Blog Around The Clock

Scientists Discover New Life In Antarctic Deep Sea:

Scientists have found hundreds of new marine creatures in the vast, dark deep-sea surrounding Antarctica. Carnivorous sponges, free-swimming worms, crustaceans, and molluscs living in the Weddell Sea provide new insights into the evolution of ocean life.

DNA Analysis Suggests Under-reported Kills Of Threatened Whales:

A new study analyzing whale meat sold in Korean markets suggests the number of whales being sold for human consumption in the Asian country is much higher than that being reported to the International Whaling Commission -- putting threatened populations of coastal minke whales further at risk.

Growing Nerve Cells In 3-D Dramatically Affects Gene Expression:

Nerve cells grown in three-dimensional environments deploy hundreds of different genes compared with cells grown in standard two-dimensional petri dishes, according to a new Brown University study. The research, spearheaded by bioengineer Diane Hoffman-Kim, adds to a growing body of evidence that lab culture techniques dramatically affect the way these cells behave.

Latent Memory Of Cells Comes To Life:

New Danish research has examined the mechanisms behind latent cell memory, which can come to life and cause previously non-existent capacities suddenly to appear. Special yeast cells for example, can abruptly change from being of a single sex to hermaphrodite.

How Rabies Spreads In A Raccoon Outbreak:

Analyzing 30 years of data detailing a large rabies virus outbreak among North American raccoons, researchers at Emory University have revealed how initial demographic, ecological and genetic processes simultaneously shaped the virus's geographic spread over time. The study appears online in the Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences.

Beetles' Attack On Bee Hives May Contribute To Colony Collapse Disorder:

The honeybee's alarm signal may not only bring help, but also attract the small hive beetle. Now, an international team of researchers has found that small hive beetles can detect some alarm pheromones at levels below that detected by honeybees.

West Nile Virus Threatens Backyard Birds:

Scientists at the Consortium for Conservation Medicine (CCM), based at Wildlife Trust, New York, and the Smithsonian Institution's Migratory Bird Center report in an article appearing in Nature that many species of birds, including backyard favorites such as tufted titmice and chickadees, are suffering serious declines from West Nile virus.