Spider Silk Can Be Stretchy Like Springs Or Like Rubber:
Spider silks are incredibly stretchy, but are they stretchy like elastic or springs? The answer lies in their amino acid content. Spider silks are made from proteins, and biologists have just discovered that the secret lies in the silk protein's amino acid content. Spider silks with high proline contents behave like elastic rubber bands, while spider silks with low proline content behave like stretchy springs.
Scientists Uncover How Plant Roots Respond To Physical Forces Such As Gravity, Pressure, Or Touch:
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are the first to identify two proteins responsible for mechanosensitive ion channel activities in plant roots. Scientists have long known that plant cells respond to physical forces. Until now, however, the proteins controlling the ion channel response remained a mystery.
Human Viruses Appear To Be Making Wild Chimpanzees Sick:
After studying chimpanzees in the wilds of Tanzania's Mahale Mountains National Park for the past year as part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, Virginia Tech researcher Dr. Taranjit Kaur and her team have produced powerful scientific evidence that chimpanzees are becoming sick from viral infectious diseases they have likely contracted from humans.
The number of bacteria living within the body of the average healthy adult human are estimated to outnumber human cells 10 to 1. Changes in these microbial communities may be responsible for digestive disorders, skin diseases, gum disease and even obesity. Despite their vital imporance in human health and disease, these communities residing within us remain largely unstudied and a concerted research effort needs to be made to better understand them, say researchers June 3 at the 108th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Boston.
Unravelling The Mystery Of The Kitty Litter Parasite In Marine Mammals:
Researchers at California Polytechnic State University have discovered what may be a clue to the mystery of why marine mammals around the world are succumbing to a parasite that is typically only associated with cats. The key may just be the lowly anchovy, according to research presented today at the 108th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Boston.
New Way To Think About Earth's First Cells:
A team of researchers at Harvard University have modeled in the laboratory a primitive cell, or protocell, that is capable of building, copying and containing DNA.
Estrogen Applied To Human Penis Could Block Spread Of HIV, Study Suggests:
In a world first, a University of Melbourne study has shown that topical oestrogen could help prevent HIV infection by blocking entry of the virus into the human penis.
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