Caterpillars tell us how bacteria cause disease
... survive immune system attack, so when they invade mammals they are equipped to deal with their immune system response and are able to spread rapidly. It is thought this is how bacteria, such as Yersinia pestis the cause of plague, could have evolved to wreak havoc in humans. Dr Nick Waterfield, who is l...Does missing gene point to nocturnal existence for early mammals?
...ertebrates and fits with the suggestion that early mammals were at one time wholly nocturnal creatures. "Th...gene is present in all vertebrates, the version in mammals was unusually different to that found in fish, amphibians and birds. "At first, we put this geneti...Pheromone from mother's milk may rapidly promote learning in newborn mammals
...the Centre Europen des Sciences du Got. Newborn mammals are highly dependent on their mother's milk for survival, and they typically exhibit a defined sequence of actions when searching for milk. This searching behavior rapidly becomes increasingly directed, showing that mammalian newborns are efficient l...Train your brain to hear your friends at a party
...y research has had some remarkable results. Most mammals also have this ability and in 2006, scientists working in the Oxford Auditory Neuroscience Group found that spatial hearing in ferrets has the ability to bounce-back or adapt to a hearing loss over time. Their brains are being "trained" to cope with ...Discovery in the evolution of the immune system absorbing cells
...he complement system in lower vertebrates, whereas mammals have developed greater effectiveness and specialisation in the adaptive mechanism of antibodies.......in of new species, and an astonishing diversity of mammals inhabiting Earth."...Cloned mice created from fully differentiated cells, a milestone in cloning research
...compelling evidence that Dolly the sheep and other mammals cloned by somatic cell nuclear transfer were most likely derived from fully differentiated cells, not adult stem cells, as most have argued in the nine years since Dolly was first created. Because stem cells have the ability to self-renew and differe...Bacterial protein shows promise in treating intestinal parasites
... of the study. "Crystal toxins are safe to humans, mammals and other vertebrates. And it might be possible to...owever, since the toxin can't bind to the cells of mammals or other vertebrates, Cry proteins can't hurt humans. "Crystal proteins had been used for decades ...What animals can tell us about hemorrhage, organ transplants and aging
...lic rate, live much longer than most similar-sized mammals with a lower metabolic rate. A study of birds, bats and rodents finds differences within their cells that may help explain the longer-than-expected life span of birds and bats, Kristan said. These are just two of the symposia taking place at the ...USGS at The Wildlife Society: From sea-ice change to contaminants to predators and prey
...ela nigripes) is one of the most highly endangered mammals in North America. Once thought to be extinct, a captive breeding and recovery program was established for ferrets in 1987. Although the breeding program has been highly successful and ferret populations (about 500 animals) have been established in se...'Killer' B cells demonstrate evolutionary link between fish and mammal immune systems
...ionary link between the immune systems of fish and mammals in the form of a primitive version of B cells, white blood cells of the immune system. Their studies link the evolution of the adaptive immune system in mammals, where B cells produce antibodies to fight infection, to the more primitive innate immun...Researchers identify taste receptor responsible for caffeine detection
...Cell Press. Many proteins have been identified in mammals and in the genetic model organism Drosophila that belong to a large family of taste receptors, but relatively few of these receptors have been shown to be responsible for the detection of a specific taste compound, or "tastant." One class of tastants...NASA hosts Arctic sea ice media teleconference
... ice is also important to the well being of Arctic mammals such as polar bears. Sea ice is an indicator of changing water, air and sea surface temperatures. With the annual minimum perennial sea ice period less than one month away, researchers from NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder, C...Warming climate may put chill on arctic polar bear population
...platform from which to hunt seals and other marine mammals for food." Sea ice is most scarce during the summer months, causing the bears to retreat to land and fast on their stored fat reserves until sea ice comes back in the fall. "Our concern is that if the length of the sea ice season continues to decre...Islands spark accelerated evolution
...n 21 years through 20,000 years. The finding that mammals evolve faster on islands, Millien argues, comports with the island evolution theory prediction that mammals respond to their new island homes with rapid morphological and size adaptations. The brisk pace of t...Researchers discover that sheep need retroviruses for reproduction
...ous retroviruses are important for reproduction in mammals has been around for about 30 years, Spencer said. ...troviruses shaped the evolution of the placenta in mammals and then became indispensable for pregnancy, and thus may be why they are expressed in the placenta ...After insects attack, plants bunker sugars for later regrowth
...which regulates the use of glucose or galactose in mammals and yeast - especially during times of energy deficiency. SNF1 kinases function as posttranslational modificators and can up- or downregulate the activity of metabolic enzymes by means of phosphorylation. Prof. Baldwin and his coworkers identified ...Researchers add crucial information on how the body's T cells react to parasitic diseases
...asite that carries it, T. cruzi, is transmitted to mammals and humans through the bite of several genera of flying, biting insects. What intrigued Tarleton was that T cell response to infection from T. cruzi, while important to the body's ability to fight disease, has remained somewhat cryptic because of the...Researchers identify the cells and receptor for sensing sour taste
...onsible for sour taste, the primary gateway in all mammals for the detection of spoiled and unripe food sources. The receptor is found in a subpopulation of taste receptor cells of the tongue that do not function in sweet, bitter, or umami taste, the researchers report in the August 24, 2006, issue of the......areas." These huge, harmless, plant-eating marine mammals usually swim slowly and prefer shallow habitats. Manatees are an endangered species, protected by federal law....