New study links low fish supply to increased bushmeat hunting
...driving a region-wide collapse of biodiversity, it seems questionable that foreign governments should be using their taxpayers' money to subsidize the mining of developing countries' fish stocks," said Balmford. "Given the EU's expressed concerns about the bushmeat trade, phasing out subsidies to their own...Genome of ancient fish could reveal evolutionary mysteries, Stanford scientists say
...ticular fish. In contrast, the coelacanth seems to have changed very little--physically or genetically--since one wayward branch of the fish family headed for land roughly 360 million years ago. Because it has changed so little the coelacanth is ideal for genetic comparisons. Any genetic feature f...How the sea urchin grows new spines
...t should be so difficult to observe a process that seems to be so basic. Scientists have been studying it for over a hundred years. In fact, because the ACC is a transient phase, we had to develop new methods to catch it while it exists." The captured images show microscopic needles that grow first str...Scientists achieve self-assembly of spider silk fiber in insect cells
...h level of sophistication in the spider fibers. It seems that the protein ADF-4 makes it possible for the rapid production of fiber, while the other protein, ADF-3, regulates production and prevents early fiber production, which could be fatal to the spider. The researchers are now hoping to be able to cr...UGA researchers explain recent decline in Georgia's blue crab population
...e drought officially at an end, anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that blue crab populations are on the rise, and the prevalence of the Hermatodinium infection is decreasing. ...How the battle of Waterloo could help doctors fight death from multiple organ failure
...he body's inability to regulate energy expenditure seems to play a key role in the development of sepsis-induced multiple organ failure. We think that some septic patients become deficient in leptin and this leads to energy failure and subsequent organ dysfunction. Exploring the relationship between leptin...Studies in Royal Society journals include stress in birds and depletion of medieval fish stocks
...r generations in the presence of normal worms. It seems longevity does come at a cost, just as predicted by evolutionary theories of aging. This finding may have implications for future interventions in human aging. Contact: Dr NL Jenkins, Buck Insitute fo Age Research, 8001 Redwood Blvd, Novato, CA 9494...Patients' own stem cells used to cure incontinence
...well. In men without scar tissue stem cell therapy seems to work as well as in women, Dr. Frauscher said. Co-authors of the Austrian study are Andrea Klauser, M.D., Dieter Zur Nedden, M.D., Leo Pallwein, M.D., Rainer Marksteiner, Ph.D., Hannes Strasser, M.D., and Georg Bartsch, M.D....Stronger therapy better for AML with normal genetics
...ay also be unnecessary. Using an intermediate dose seems equally effective but has fewer side effects, which can include toxicity to the kidneys and brain. "This has been suspected, but it hasn't been carefully studied," Farag says. "Again, we need a larger randomized study in the future to ve...Fragmented habitats no ultimate refuges for forest-dwelling tropical birds
...rt Pimm. "There's no special class of species that seems to adapt well to the habitats we create for them." Harris recently completed his doctorate under Pimm at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences and is now employed by the U.S. Forest Service in Alaska. Pimm is the Nicholas Schoo...UCSD biologists identify gene in corn plants that may have paved way for development of maize
...velopment of modern maize. "This gene seems to have been the target of human selection," says Doebley. "The fact that humans preferred some allelic form of this gene over others is a smoking gun. But we don't have the direct proof yet. We need to do some follow up studies to see if this gene w...Chimpanzee brains are asymmetrical in key areas and their handedness reflects it
...fects human facial expression and emotions, it now seems more clear why across primates, says Hopkins, the left half of the face controlled by the right side of the brain -- is more emotionally expressive. In addition, a right-dominant hippocampus would explain apes' well-developed spatial memory. Again...Impulsive behavior may be relict of hunter-gatherer past
... Abuse funds a lot of studies of impulsiveness. It seems to play a part in addiction. I think anything we can do to understand impulsivity is a plus." ...New weapon in germ warfare: 'Jamming' bacteria signals stops cholera
...ching on their disease-causing mechanisms. It seems likely that furanones can have the same effect on many other bacteria, such as those that cause food poisoning and cystic fibrosis-related infections. Furanones do not kill such microbes but simply "jam" their ability to send signals to each othe...Chicken genome analysis unlocks secrets of mammalian and bird evolution
...dent evolution of mammals and birds. The chicken seems to be the only vertebrate species whose genome has been sequenced that has lost more genes than it has gained in the evolutionary process. The chicken that served as the DNA donor for the first draft sequencing project was a Red Jungle Fowl female f...Cloned gene from sea animal may prove key in cancer drug development
...ering with the body's normal processes. Bryostatin seems to be effective by "flipping a switch" that contro... the body.In the case of leukemia, for example, it seems to bring the cells "to their senses" and make them behave like normal blood cells. In addition to Ha...Baby songbirds and human infants learn sounds in similar ways
...gy they choose, or what combination of strategies, seems to depend on what their siblings are doing. In tim...vior at Rockefeller. "In both cases vocal learning seems to be approached as a challenge in problem solving," says Nottebohm, whose studies in canaries in th...Dwarf mistletoe reveals its sexual secrets
...This evergreen nature, and the fact that the plant seems to emerge seedless from bird dung, prompted ancient peoples' regard for it as a symbol of fertility, endurance and strength. ...Laser scalpel opens way for nerve regeneration studies in worms
...ody, appears to begin regrowth, and the distal end seems to hang around for a while. Depending on how fast ...ttach to the distal end. Otherwise, the distal end seems to deteriorate, and the nerve regeneration will proceed from the proximal end. However, we will need...Desires for fatty foods and alcohol share a chemical trigger
...etween the desires for alcohol and food. "There seems to be a cycle of positive feedback," said Bartley Hoebel, co-author of a paper appearing in the December issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. "Consumption of alcohol produces galanin, and galanin promotes the consumption of alcoho...