New Emperor Penguin Colonies Discovered in Antarctica
Scientists observed two new colonies totaling 6,000 emperor penguin chicks near Mertz Glacier in Antarctica, raising the estimated population in this area to about threefold…
Biology News
Proteins Engineered With Predictable Structures
Proteins fold spontaneously into precise conformation, time after time, optimized by evolution. Yet given the number of contortions possible for chains of amino acids, dictating…
Methane Consuming Microorganisms Exhibit a Strange Diet
Scientists at MARUM and the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology explore the unique diets of methane consuming microorganisms. Methane is formed under the absence…
Lab-Made Gel Mimics Molecular Motors Inside Living Cells
Researchers have developed a lab-made material that can move itself using the building blocks found inside cells. The scientists published their findings in the journal…
First Sighting of the Spade-Toothed Whale
The spade-toothed whale (Mesoplodon traversii) is a little-known species of beaked whales. They were first discovered in 1872 when bone fragments were found on Pitt…
Early Treatment Triggers Significant Improvements in Children With Autism
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, a team of scientists measured changes in brain activity after two five-year-olds with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) received pivotal response…
General Anesthetic Induces Slow Oscillations, Disrupts Brain Communication
Little is known about general anesthetics, the drugs that put patients in a coma-like state, feeling no pain or discomfort while being operated on. A…
Blind Mole Rats May Hold Cellular Clues to Effective Treatments for Cancer
New cell cultures from two species of blind mole rats, Spalax judaei and Spalax golani, behave in ways that render them impervious to the growth…
Dutch Company Will Start Selling Gene Therapy Treatment in 2013
A Dutch company, uniQure, states that it will start selling the first human gene therapy to be approved in the West by mid-2013. They expect…
Antidepressant Use During Pregnancy Has Increased Risks
HMS researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center examined the current literature on the safety and efficacy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) use…
Synthetic Antioxidant Suppresses Symptoms of Huntington’s Disease in Mice
A team of scientists have designed a synthetic antioxidant, XJB-5-131, that targets mitochondria and suppresses symptoms of Huntington’s disease in mice. There’s new hope in…
Genes Related to Host-Microbe Interactions Linked to IBD
A newly published study identified 71 additional genetic associations for IBD and suggests a strong overlap between IBD susceptibility genes and genes tied to the…
Flashes of Light Can Break Habits
The addition of a light-sensitive protein to a small part of a rat’s brain allowed researchers to silence the neurons in the infralimbic cortex (ILC)…
The Most Comprehensive Catalog of Human Genome Variations
An international team of more than 1,000 scientists participated in a new study showing an integrated map of genetic variation from 1,092 human genomes. A…
Why Children Believe Hiding Their Eyes Makes Them Disappear
Young children think that they can hide themselves from others by covering or closing their eyes. This is something that most parents and teachers quickly…
Sequencing DNA From Individual Cells Yields Dramatic New Information
Nicolas Navin wanted to work out the sequence from individual cancer cells to see how they had mutated and diverged as the cancer grew. Back…
Magnesium Supplements Could Improve Memory and Cognitive Ability
After a decade of research hinting that magnesium supplements could potentially boost your memory and cognitive abilities, it’s finally being put into a small clinical…
People With Redhead Pigment Are More Susceptible to Skin Cancer
Redheads with fair skin are more susceptible to the damaging effects of the Sun. A new study indicated that the pigment responsible for this coloring…
