World's oldest modern hummingbirds described in Science
...ermine the shape of some Asian and African flowers alive today. These findings appear in the 07 May, 2004 issue of the journal Science , published by AAAS, the non-profit science society. "This is the oldest convincing record of modern-type hummingbirds," said Gerald Mayr, a zoologist from Forschungsinsti...Crop rotation may help wait out soil pathogen deadly to pumpkins
...ns to be answered: How long does the pathogen stay alive in the soil? "Unfortunately, we don't know how long," Babadoost said. "Currently, I have a graduate student investigating that. We are trying to work out the problem piece by piece, then develop effective strategies to manage this disease. Definitel...UCSD study shows how we perceive world depends on precise division of labor among cells in brain
...when bathed in an appropriate solution can be kept alive under a microscope. To mimic incoming information, the first author on the paper, Frdric Pouille, a postdoctoral fellow in Scanziani's laboratory, provided an electrical stimulus--analogous to the score in Scanziani's analogy--and then monitored whi...Noah's modern ark: The role of ART in conserving endangered species
...how many sperm are produced, how do you keep sperm alive in the laboratory, etc. "Secondly, while human technologies allow us a baseline from where to start our studies, every species is different. What might work in a human, probably might not work in a cheetah or giant panda. Even within families of sp...Bacteria spill their guts to aid researchers in quest for new antibiotics
New findings about a protein that keeps cells alive by opening and closing pores within a cell's membrane may open the door to the development of new antibiotics. Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas are studying a protein, called MscL, found in the membrane of the single-cell bacte...Springtime blooms seen earlier now than in the past, say Boston University biologists
... on records for 229 plants, all of which are still alive and blooming in the Arboretum. By comparing current flowering dates of the woody plants selected with their past flowering dates recorded in the Arboretum's herbarium, the researchers found a significant trend toward earlier flowering. ...Blood pressure hormone may inhibit growth of lung cancer
... forms of cancer, with only 13 percent of patients alive after five years. They said either the administration of angiotensin-(1-7) directly, or through compounds that elevate the angiotensin circulating through the body, such as ACE inhibitors, may both treat and prevent lung cancer, with reduced side ...Small, Smac-like molecule encourages death of cancer cells
...hich, if not countered by Smac, will keep the cell alive and growing. In cancer cells, IAPs tend to be overexpressed, and the signals that tell mitochondria to release Smac are often defective. That's why the UT Southwestern-developed Smac mimic, which can enter the cytoplasm of cells unhindered, is an imp...Fossils reveal direct link between global warming and genetic diversity in wildlife
... were particularly interested in animals that were alive during two recent climatic events the Medieval Warm Period (850-1350 A.D.), when the Northern Hemisphere experienced a slight warming trend; and the Little Ice Age (1350-1950), when the hemisphere cooled. Since voles and pocket gophers prefer relat...'Most recent common ancestor' of all living humans surprisingly recent
... who was a direct ancestor of all humans currently alive may have lived just a few thousand years ago. "W... ancestor to all or ancestor to none of the people alive today. The current paper presents more realistic mathematical and computer models. It incorpor...New study indicates arsenic could be suitable as first-line treatment in type of leukaemia
...ow Transplant Center. 88.5% of patients were still alive with a mean survival time to date of nearly 34 months. Of 11 patients who relapsed, eight went back into remission after a third cycle of treatment. Six patients in the trial have died. APL accounts for around 10% of acute myeloid leukaemias and aff...