Scientists Uncover the Key to Proper Muscle Growth
Three oscillating proteins cause new muscle cells to emerge from muscle stem cells in a balanced manner. In a paper being published in the journal…
Developmental Biology
Lower Testosterone During Puberty Increases the Brain’s Sensitivity to the Sex Hormone in Adulthood
For men with lower levels during puberty, higher testosterone increases brain response to faces. Young men with lower testosterone levels throughout puberty become more sensitive…
Genomic Study Reveals Evolutionary Secrets of Banyan Tree and a Wasp That Coevolved With It
The banyan fig tree Ficus microcarpa is famous for its aerial roots, which sprout from branches and eventually reach the soil. The tree also has…
A Major Malformation Illustrates the Incredible Plasticity of the Human Brain
People born without a corpus callosum do not have a bridge between the two cerebral hemispheres. Neuroscientists from UNIGE have shown how the brain manages…
Scientists Warn: Chemicals in Your Living Room Cause Diabetes
Mice develop diabetes after exposure through mothers. A new UC Riverside study shows flame retardants found in nearly every American home cause mice to give…
When New Males Take Over, These Female Primates Hurry Up and Sexually Mature
Most mammals — including humans and other primates — reach sexual maturity early or late depending on lots of different factors, such as how much…
Heat Stress Damages Sperm and Fertility – Now Scientists Know Why
Project using roundworms uncovers a mechanism that leads to male infertility caused by high temperatures. University of Oregon biologists have used the model organism Caenorhabditis…
Monkeys May Have “Self-Domesticated” – Like Humans
It’s not a coincidence that dogs are cuter than wolves, or that goats at a petting zoo have shorter horns and friendlier demeanors than their…
Like Humans, Chimpanzees Can Suffer for Life if They Lose Their Mother Before Adulthood
Male chimpanzees who lose their mother early in life are less competitive and have fewer offspring than sons who continue to live with their mothers….
Similar to Humans, Mother Bats Use “Baby Talk” to Communicate With Their Pups
When talking to babies, humans slow down their speech, raise their pitch and change the “color” of their voice. This “baby talk,” as people know…
Experts Warn of Growing “Hormone Disrupter” Chemical Threats
Experts call for stricter regulation. A growing number of chemicals in pesticides, flame retardants, and certain plastics have been linked to widespread health problems including…
Scientists Create Human Embryo-Like Model From Human Stem Cells
Scientists from the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with the Hubrecht Institute in The Netherlands, have developed a new model to study an early stage…
Bioelectric Drugs Can Repair and Prevent Defects in Developing Frog Brains
Researchers suggest the discovery offers a roadmap for exploration of therapeutic drugs that could help repair birth defects in humans. Researchers led by biologists at…
New Research Shows Adolescence Is Ruff for Dogs Too
New research led by scientists from Newcastle University and the University of Nottingham has shown that typical teenage behavior doesn’t just occur in young humans…
For Narwhals – The ‘Unicorns of the Sea’ – Size Matters for Sexual Selection
Showy peacock feathers, extravagant elk antlers and powerful crayfish claws are just a few examples of the ostentatious animal extremes used to compete for and…
Human Embryos’ Muscles Still Have 250-Million-Year-Old Evolutionary Remnants
A team of evolutionary biologists, led by Dr. Rui Diogo at Howard University, USA, and writing in the journal Development, have demonstrated that numerous atavistic…
Incredible Imaging Shows How Neural Circuits Form in a Developing Embryo [Video]
Cells that eventually become neurons (red, orange, and yellow spheres) migrate during embryonic development. The migrating baby neurons that build the spinal cord are color-coded…
Scientists Find New Trigger for Onset of Colon Cancer
Collaborative research has discovered a new function of a colon cancer gene that puts the brakes on several colon cancer activators. This finding may lead…