Fungus knocks a frog down but not out, raising questions about amphibian declines
... "We don't yet know how or whether the fungus gets around in the environment and one possibility is that resistant species of frogs carry it around," Retallick said. "Because Litoria lesueuri populations carry high levels of infection of this fungus and the frogs show no sign of distress, this specie...Pine cones lead to a fundamental change in clothing
...a millimetre wide. When the wearer of the clothing gets hot and sweats, the tiny spikes in the material will react to the moisture and automatically open up, so that air from the outside can get through the material to cool the wearer. When the wearer stops sweating, the spikes will close down again to st...Intelligent clothing inspired by pine cones
...a millimetre wide. When the wearer of the clothing gets hot and sweats, the tiny spikes in the material will react to the moisture and automatically open up, so that air from the outside can get through the material to cool the wearer. When the wearer stops sweating, the spikes will close down again to st...Study describes basic mechanism in cell growth control involving damaged DNA
...gs CDT1 with ubiquitin, and 15 minutes later, CDT1 gets degraded. "This provides an explanation of how DDB1 may function to ensure the genetic stability and prevent cancer cell growth," said Xiong. "Our findings suggest that DDB1, by targeting CDT1 ubiquitination by the CUL4 ligase, may stop cells from pr...Study identifies target for preventing sexual transmission of HIV
...en substantial debate as to how the virus actually gets into cells at these sites of transmission, called mucosal sites. HIV can use certain cell surface molecules such as CCR5 to gain entry into immune system cells called CD4. We knew that people with a mutation whose CD4 cells' surface lack CCR5 are al...Biomedical engineers at case develop first sliver-sized sensor to monitor glucose levels
...e outside if the sliver is not too deep, and if it gets distorted by the skin this can be corrected by using a white spot inside the sensor that does not change color," Gratzl said. The sensor, which is one to two millimeters long and 100 to 200 micrometers wide, penetrates the skin easily and painlessly...For inferring the biological tree of life, simple is better
...e, as it is known to do. "Maximum likelihood often gets the wrong tree because it assumes evolution can be accurately captured in a statistical model, but the assumptions of those models are usually wrong," Thornton said. "Parsimony makes fewer assumptions, so it can cope with a complex reality better." T...Scientists closing in on nerve proteins' contributions to memory and hearing loss
...ve too many receptors at a synapse, the nerve cell gets overstimulated and dies," Bao notes. "Too few, and the signal can't get through. Adjusting this ability for a signal to get through is thought to be essential to the creation of learning and memory, so a delicate balance has to be struck in this prot...Findings challenge Darwinian theory
...nough, the program that makes a crusher claw never gets started. It's a clear example of how environment in some sense causes difference in form," Dr. Palmer said. Further, studies on many other plant and animal species with both right-sided and left-sided forms showed that if two of the same 'handed...Researchers unlock mysteries of toxic metals in the largest contaminated site in United States
... "It allows the metals to be bioavailable, when it gets on a fish's gills, for instance."...The blotchier the face, the better the wasp
...hy by fighting. The winner, the top or alpha wasp, gets to lay more eggs and do less work than the other w...s quality. When a wasp transmits mixed signals, it gets punished. "That kind of aggression has lasting repercussions," she said. "They have less time to fee......or the Martian environment, Chile's Atacama desert gets rain maybe once a decade. In 2003, scientists reported that the driest Atacama soils were sterile. Not so, reports a team of Arizona scientists. Bleak though it may be, microbial life lurks beneath the arid surface of the Atacama's absolute desert. ...'Blind' cells see the light; maybe someday humans will, too
...- to the channel protein so that, once the protein gets in place in the cell membrane, this molecule dangles off the outer surface of the cell like a fish hook. They then inserted the mutated potassium channel gene into cells from the hippocampus of a rat -- cells that are found inside the brain and never...New method to measure ancient land elevation developed by Field Museum scientist
...yone who has climbed a mountain knows that the air gets "thinner" as you climb higher. As with oxygen, carbon dioxide is less concentrated at higher elevations. Therefore, the higher the elevation, the more stomata per square inch of leaf surface a plant would need to survive. By simply counting the numbe...Researchers reconstruct parts of the genome of a common mammalian ancestor
... "DNA comes and goes," said Haussler. "Some DNA gets deleted, and new DNA gets inserted. Tracking the history of these insertions and deletions is essential." Haussler's research...USC-led team of scientists recreates DNA-mending pathway in test-tube
...d radiation treatment, Lieber notes. "This pathway gets used not just for accidental damage, oxidative damage and radiation damage to DNA, but is also used in the immune system," he explains. "So the immune system would function less well without it."...Study urges caution in contaminant source tracking
...e strain, however, building large source libraries gets expensive rather quickly. E. coli strains may not be truly specific to one animal source. Some E. coli strains have been found in more than one animal source, such as when animals live in close proximity with one another, though no evidence to...Scientists solve the mystery of how Botox attacks nerves and eliminates wrinkles
...king injections of Botox, a prescription drug that gets rid of facial wrinkles by temporarily paralyzing muscles in the forehead. Although best known as a cosmetic procedure, Botox injections also have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat uncontrolled blinking (blepharospasm), ...New pathway identified in angiogenesis
...GF, so the signal to build new blood vessels never gets through. "In essence, we think we have found a new way to block angiogenesis," says Marsh. The approach takes advantage of a well-known principle of immunity: When a tumor or inflammation occurs, the body alerts monocytes and macrophages ...NASA study finds tiny particles in air may influence carbon sinks
...the various factors that influence how much carbon gets transferred from the air into belowground carbon sinks. Carbon dioxide acts as a heat-trapping greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. The study reported that the effects of aerosols on overall carbon exchange might be more significant than clouds. Cloud c...