Biochemistry Research News

September 30, 2016

Genes Underlying Dogs' Warmth

Rare Flu-Thwarting Mutation Discovered

New Theory On How Life Began On Earth

Flies Are Key Pollinators of the High Arctic

Latest Headlines

updated 1:25am EDT

Ancient Reptile Fossils Claw for More Attention

Sep. 29, 2016 — Newly recovered fossils confirm that Drepanosaurus, a prehistoric cross between a chameleon and an anteater, was a small reptile with a fearsome finger. The second digit of its forelimb sported a ... read more

Wind Turbines Killing More Than Just Local Birds

Sep. 29, 2016 — Wind turbines are known to kill large birds, such as golden eagles, that live nearby. Now there is evidence that birds from up to hundreds of miles away make up a significant portion of the raptors ... read more

Are Suburban Garden Ponds Spreading Lethal Frog Disease?

Sep. 29, 2016 — Keen gardeners stocking their domestic ponds with exotic or wild aquatic species could be inadvertently fueling the rapid spread of the lethally infectious frog disease ranavirus in England, ... read more

Component of Red Wine, Grapes Can Help to Reduce Inflammation, Study Finds

Sep. 28, 2016 — A component of red wine and grapes can help control inflammation induced by a bacterial pathogen that is linked to upper respiratory tract inflammatory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive ... read more

Saving Two Adult Eagles Per Year to Save the Population of This Endangered Species

Sep. 29, 2016 — Dying due to electrocution at the power lines is the most common death for Bonelli’s eagle <em>(Aquila fasciata</em>), a ... read more

Consumption of a Bioactive Compound from Neem Plant Could Significantly Suppress Development of Prostate Cancer

Sep. 29, 2016 — Oral administration of nimbolide, over 12 weeks shows reduction of prostate tumor size by up to 70 per cent and decrease in ... read more

Simulations Help Explain How Genomes Take Form of 3-D Chromosomes

Sep. 26, 2016 — Scientists trying to solve the ultimate puzzle -- the architecture of the human genome -- have snapped another piece into place. They have developed a model to explain one part of the mechanism, the ... read more

New Insight Into Eye Diseases

Sep. 28, 2016 — Many diseases that lead to blindness, such as glaucoma and macular degeneration, are caused by the death of certain cells in the human retina that lack the ability to ... read more

Optimization Technique Identifies Cost-Effective Biodiversity Corridors

Sep. 27, 2016 — A new optimization technique could help conservation biologists choose the most cost-effective ways of connecting isolated populations of rare, threatened and endangered ... read more

Fungus Makes Mosquitoes Much More Likely to Become Infected With Malaria

Sep. 28, 2016 — A fungus that compromises the immune system of mosquitoes, making them more susceptible to infection with the parasite that causes malaria, has been discovered by scientists. Because environmental ... read more

Cat-Scratch Disease Is Putting More Infected People In The Hospital

Dinosaurs Roar Into Life in Berlin Thanks to Virtual Reality

Drones Give Rare Glimpse Into Australian Whales

Soft Robots Could Make Human Interactions With Robots Safer

Structure of the BinAB Toxin Revealed

Sep. 29, 2016 — Could we get rid of mosquitoes without polluting the environment? Yes, we can, say researchers. The BinAB toxin, produced in crystal form by a bacterium, specifically kills the larvae of Culex and ... read more

Scientists Reveal How Signals from Pathogenic Bacteria Reach Danger Sensors of Cells

Sep. 29, 2016 — An essential protein induced by the signaling protein interferon is needed to activate danger-sensing proteins in the cytoplasm of cells, scientists describe in a new ... read more

Cells Migrate Collectively by Intermittent Bursts of Activity

Sep. 29, 2016 — Cell migration is a central process in the development and maintenance of multicellular organisms. Researchers have now discovered that this motion occurs by intermittent bursts of activity. It can ... read more

Cocaine Accumulation in Fish Eyes

Sep. 29, 2016 — A study using a new imaging method has revealed that, surprisingly, cocaine accumulates in the eyes of zebrafish. The findings indicate that chemicals – especially psychoactive drugs – need to be ... read more

Wireless, Freely Behaving Rodent Cage Helps Scientists Collect More Reliable Data

Sep. 28, 2016 — The EnerCage (Energized Cage) system is created for scientific experiments on awake, freely behaving small animals. It wirelessly powers electronic devices and sensors traditionally used during ... read more

How Choosy Should You Be?

Sep. 28, 2016 — When animals choose their mates, how discriminate they are varies a great deal. For some male Mormon crickets, any female will do; in contrast, blue peahens rarely fall for the first cock courting ... read more

Forbidden Fruit a Fatal Temptation for Grizzly Bears in Southeastern British Columbia

Sep. 27, 2016 — With its rustic small mountain towns, postcard-perfect vistas, and abundance of “pow” days, British Columbia’s East Kootenay region has an undeniable lure for outdoor enthusiasts of all ... read more

Researchers Modify Yeast to Show How Plants Respond to a Key Hormone

Sep. 27, 2016 — Researchers have developed a novel toolkit based on modified yeast cells to tease out how plant genes and proteins respond to auxin, the most ubiquitous plant hormone. Their system allowed them to ... read more

Antibiotic Resistance Can Occur Naturally in Soil Bacteria

Sep. 27, 2016 — Scientists have found antibiotic-resistant bacteria in prairie soils that had little or no exposure to human or animal ... read more

Toxins from Food Mold Weaken Airways' Defenses to Cause More Damage

Sep. 27, 2016 — Toxins from mold found growing on nuts or corn can weaken the airways’ self-clearing mechanisms and immunity, opening the door for respiratory diseases and exacerbating existing ones, suggests a ... read more

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Caused Widespread Marsh Erosion, Study Shows

Sep. 27, 2016 — The Deepwater Horizon oil spill six years ago caused widespread marsh erosion that may be permanent in some places, according to a new analysis of 270 miles of the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama ... read more

Outrageous Heads Led to Outrageously Large Dinosaurs

Sep. 27, 2016 — Theropod dinosaur species with bony crests, horns and knobs evolved to giant body sizes 20 times faster than those species lacking such embellishments, new research has ... read more

New Switch Decides Between Genome Repair, Death of Cells

Sep. 27, 2016 — The genetic information of every cell is encoded in the sequence of the DNA double helix. Double strand breaks in the DNA, which can be induced by radiation, are a dangerous threat to the cells, and ... read more

Climate Change Will See Some Males Get Sexier

Sep. 27, 2016 — A common marine crustacean has shown researchers that it's all set to beat climate change -- the males will get more attractive to the females, with a resulting population ... read more

How Wetlands and Agriculture, Not Fossil Fuels, Could Be Causing a Global Rise in Methane

Sep. 27, 2016 — Recent rises in levels of methane in our atmosphere is being driven by biological sources, such as swamp gas, cow burps, or rice fields, rather than fossil fuel emissions, new research ... read more

Ancient Eggshell Protein Breaks Through DNA Time Barrier

Sep. 27, 2016 — Scientists have identified fossil proteins in a 3.8 million year-old ostrich eggshell, suggesting that proteins could provide valuable new insights into the evolutionary tree, much further back in ... read more

Eat, Escape, Love: The Price of Looking Sexy

Sep. 27, 2016 — In the animal kingdom colorful traits can be both a blessing and a curse. A new study has studied the conspicuous wing coloration of two species of damselflies. Their results imply that males, but ... read more

Blue Stoplight to Prevent Runaway Photosynthesis

Sep. 27, 2016 — An international team using the green alga Chlamydomonas as a model has found a switch that triggers the suppression mechanism to prevent runaway photosynthesis. The switch is a blue light ... read more

Fecal Bacteria Linked to Body Fat

Sep. 26, 2016 — A new link between the diversity of bacteria in human poo -- known as the human fecal microbiome -- and levels of abdominal body fat, has been identified by scientists. The research provides further ... read more

Big Data Analysis Shows Weak Link Between Badgers and Cattle for TB Transmission

Sep. 26, 2016 — The largest simulation to date of the numbers of cattle and badgers infected with tuberculosis (TB) casts serious doubts about the extent to which badgers cause TB in cattle, according to ... read more

Thursday, September 29, 2016

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Saturday, September 24, 2016

How natural selection acted on one penguin species over the past quarter century

Friday, September 23, 2016

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Monday, September 19, 2016

Sunday, September 18, 2016

How a bacterial virulence factor promotes its own secretion

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Friday, September 16, 2016

Thursday, September 15, 2016