Bats Pick Up Rustling Sounds Against Highway Background Noise:
When bats go hunting by listening for faint rustling sounds made by their quarry on a quiet night they don't have any problems. But what happens when a bat goes foraging next to a noisy highway? Can they still hear the faint sounds?
America's Smallest Dinosaur Uncovered:
An unusual breed of dinosaur that was the size of a chicken, ran on two legs and scoured the ancient forest floor for termites is the smallest dinosaur species found in North America, according to a University of Calgary researcher who analyzed bones found during the excavation of an ancient bone bed near Red Deer, Alberta.
Growing Up Too Fast May Mean Dying Young In Honey Bees:
New study shows that transitions to aerobically-expensive behaviors in organisms living free in nature can have important consequences affecting the pace of aging.
Essential Gene For Forming Ears Of Corn Discovered:
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) professor David Jackson, Ph.D., and a team of plant geneticists have identified a gene essential in controlling development of the maize plant, commonly known in the United States as corn. The new research extends the growing biological understanding of how the different parts of maize arise--important information for a plant that is the most widely planted crop in the U.S. and a mainstay of the global food supply.
Aspirin And Atherosclerosis: Mechanism Uncovered:
Aspirin has become one of the most widely used medications in the world, owing to its ability to reduce pain, fevers, inflammation, and blood clotting. In animal studies, aspirin has also been shown to prevent atherosclerosis, though none of its known mechanisms of action would seem to account for this.
Epilepsy, Autism, Schizophrenia: Master Switch That 'Balances The Brain' Found:
Neuroscientists at Children's Hospital Boston have identified the first known "master switch" in brain cells to orchestrate the formation and maintenance of inhibitory synapses, essential for proper brain function. The factor, called Npas4, regulates more than 200 genes that act in various ways to calm down over-excited cells, restoring a balance that is thought to go askew in some neurologic disorders.
The economic impact of climate change will cost a number of U.S. states billions of dollars, and delaying action will raise the price tag, concludes the latest series of reports produced by the University of Maryland's Center for Integrative Environmental Research (CIER).
Impact Of Beetle Kill On Rocky Mountain Weather, Air Quality:
Mountain pine beetles appear to be doing more than killing large swaths of forests in the Rocky Mountains. Scientists suspect they are also altering local weather patterns and air quality.
'Chemical Equator' Discovery Will Aid Pollution Mapping:
Scientists at the University of York have discovered a 'Chemical Equator' that divides the polluted air of the Northern Hemisphere from the largely uncontaminated atmosphere of the Southern Hemisphere.
Pigs Bred With Cystic Fibrosis Provide Model To Mimic Human Disease:
Cystic Fibrosis (CF) continues to be a lethal disease for humans despite the identification of the problematic gene two decades ago. Many humans born with CF - the most common genetic disease in Caucasians - often die because of a lung disease developed later. Scientists have been unable to develop an animal model that develops the fatal lung disease. Now, a University of Missouri researcher is producing pigs born with cystic fibrosis that mimic the exact symptoms of a newborn with CF.
Serious Disease In Pet Lizards Caused By New Bacteria:
Skin infections are common in pet lizards and can lead to fatal organ disease and septicaemia. Infections are particularly risky in lizards that are bred in captivity for release into the wild, as they can spread into the wild population. The cause of these diseases has been unclear but now researchers in Belgium have discovered a new bacterium responsible for dermatitis in desert lizards.
Differences Between People And Animals On Calorie Restriction:
Calorie restriction, a diet that is low in calories and high in nutrition, may not be as effective at extending life in people as it is in rodents, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
New Protein Encyclopedia Looks At Life As It Is Organized In Body, At Molecular Level:
Speaking at the 10th anniversary conference of the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics in Berne, Switzerland, its director Professor Ron Appel described his institute as a "Swiss success story". He said that he was proud that as pioneers at the heart of science one of the SIB's 25 working groups was able to announce the completion of the annotation of human proteins.
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