Time to rewrite the species rulebook, MSU scientists say
... person to piranha to petunia, it's pretty easy to spot different species in the human-scale part of the plant and animal kingdoms. But a new study shows that species differences aren't so clear, at least as currently measured, when it comes to microscopic bacteria. MSU researchers have spotted significa......se complexes pre-fabricated or put together on the spot for each specific job? Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), working closely with scientists from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), have now answered that question by drawing together many types of data in a fascin...Wisconsin scientists find portal to show animals evolve
...ccurs as accidental mutations create features - a spot here or a stripe there - that confer advantages in attracting mates, hiding from or confusing predators, or gaining access to food. The mutations are preserved, according to the Nature report, as changes in a few of the millions of nucleotides - th...New, automated tool successfully classifies and relates proteins in unprecedented way
...es that underlie disease." Using this approach to spot a protein cluster could help scientists identify a common protein structure that enables those proteins to gather in one part of the cell, according to Murphy. Getting this information is critical to foil a disease like cancer, where you might want t...Priming embryonic stem cells to fulfill their promise
...in Nature Methods involved using such a machine to spot solutions of proteins rather than DNA. The UCSD researchers also refined other parameters so that the technique would be reproducible in other research laboratories. "When we talked to our colleagues, it was clear that, whether it's cells in the liv...Deciphering the genetic babel of brain cells
...he chips. Measurements of the fluorescence of each spot give scientists an indication of the activity of particular genes. As vital as they are to studies of individual types of cells, gene chips have proven to be less useful in efforts to understand the genetic signatures of specific brain cells, because...Predator fish heat their eyes to track prey
...ting their eyes, swordfishes retain the ability to spot quickly moving objects, allowing them to intercept rapid and elusive prey. These findings offer a fascinating view into how an evolutionary "arms race" has led to a sensory specialization that gives a predator a significant edge over its prey....Antibiotic resistant bacterium uses Sonar-like strategy to 'see' enemies or prey
...found that bacteria can use a Sonar-like system to spot other cells (either normal body cells or other bacteria) and target them for destruction. Reported in the December 24 issue of Science, this finding explains how some bacteria know when to produce a toxin that makes infection more severe. It may lead...Ocean colour satellites guide research ship through South Pacific's watery desert
...variations across the South Pacific: one vast blue spot is roughly centred on Easter Island, covering an area equivalent to the Mediterranean Sea. Standing like an oasis in these blue desert waters is the chlorophyll-rich zone around the Marquises Archipelago, the precise reason for its fertility still un...Study in Royal Society journal on first evidence for magnetic field detection in sharks
...iated with sub surface predators such as tunas. To spot prey patches at distance birds climb regularly to altitudes of 20-50m and when returning to the colony they climb to altitudes up to 500m to avoid attacks by frigatebirds along the coasts. Thus, boobies use a series of very specific flight and activi...Tracking orangutans from the sky
...0 to 20,000--are outdated. Orangutans are tough to spot directly, so researchers traditionally count the nests they sleep in at night, which is time-consuming, especially when faced with the hip-deep muck and steep slopes of the rainforest floor. Instead, Ancrenaz and colleagues have developed a survey me...Citrus shows promise for certain childhood cancer
...nstoppable fashion unstoppably once the vulnerable spot on the cell is hit. "Suppose we have cancer and the cancer cell mutates repeatedly until it takes over our organs," he said. "So, a compound comes in and spots those cells with the unusual metabolism and kills them by degrading the cel...Discovery reveals how the body regulates blood oxygen
...in mammals is located in a cluster of cells at the spot where the carotid artery branches in the neck. It senses oxygen levels in the blood flowing by and helps the brain to adjust the breathing rate accordingly. "When oxygen becomes scarce, channels on these cells become less active, causing a cascade o...The blotchier the face, the better the wasp
...the redness of a cardinal or the size of the black spot on a house sparrow's chest. However, biologists wonder what keeps other animals from cheating by displaying a mark that indicates "I'm great" while actually being just average. Scientists hypothesize that social interactions discourage cheating, but ...Grants target better predictors for type 1 diabetes
...an look at different spheres, with diabetes in one spot and controls in another." "The power is really in the combination of multiple proteins," Dr. She says, and in Dr. Podolsky's ability to compare protein expression in diabetics versus controls using multidimensional models of these combinations ...BU chemist to map DNA's surface, uncovering details that will show how structure abets function
...obe called a hydroxyl radical. These radicals can spot a particular hydrogen atom in a deoxyribose, a component part of DNA, and can cleave the DNA molecule at that point. The pattern of these cleavages provides a picture of the surface of DNA that is accessible to the probe. By applying this probe to...Psychologist finds instance where 'two wrongs do make a right'
...rame, and were asked to say where they thought the spot appeared. If the frame was shifted to the observer's right or left, the perceived location of the spot was shifted in the opposite direction. However, when observers were asked to physically point toward...Combination hormone therapy doubles breast density and quadruples risk of abnormal mammograms
... degree of breast density can make it difficult to spot tumors and other abnormalities. In addition to being harder to image, dense breast tissue also appears to be more biologically active and susceptible to malignancy. Previous research at Fred Hutchinson has shown that women under 50 with predominantl...Biomedical engineers at case develop first sliver-sized sensor to monitor glucose levels
...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 so users may insert or reinsert it themselves when needed and can......eptions in sports. New research suggests that the spot on a baseball bat that feels the best to a hitter ...east vibration to the hands) may not really be the spot that can send the ball the farthest distance. Dan Russell of Kettering University in Michigan ( dru...