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Choose a page number: 1 Biology RSS FeedsParasites or not? Transposable elements in fruit flies - Nearly all organisms contain pieces of DNA that do not really belong to them. These "transposable elements", so called because they are capable of moving around within and between genomes, generally represent a drain on the host's resources and in certain cases may lead directly to disease, e.g. when they insert themselves within an essential host gene. The factors that govern the spread of transposable elements within a population are broadly understood but many of the finer points remain unclear. New work at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna (Vetmeduni Vienna) may pave the way to a more profound knowledge of the intracellular battle that is constantly being played out between the host and invading DNA. ...Feed Source: feeds.biologynews.net A battle of the vampires, 20 million years ago? - They are tiny, ugly, disease-carrying little blood-suckers that most people have never seen or heard of, but a new discovery in a one-of-a-kind fossil shows that "bat flies" have been doing their noxious business with bats for at least 20 million years.
... New procedure repairs severed nerves in minutes, restoring limb use in days or weeks - American scientists believe a new procedure to repair severed nerves could result in patients recovering in days or weeks, rather than months or years. The team used a cellular mechanism similar to that used by many invertebrates to repair damage to nerve axons. Their results are published today in the Journal of Neuroscience Research.
... Study finds southern Indian Ocean humpbacks singing different tunes - A recently published study by the Wildlife Conservation Society and others reveals that humpback whales on both sides of the southern Indian Ocean are singing different tunes, unusual since humpbacks A recently published study by the Wildlife Conservation Society and others reveals that humpback whales on both sides of the southern Indian Ocean are singing different tunes, unusual since humpbacks in the same ocean basin usually all sing very similar songs.
... Yellow-cedar are dying in Alaska: Scientists now know why - Yellow-cedar in West Chichagof-Yakobi Wilderness Area, a pristine area of coastal Alaska, faces intensive mortality. February 1, 2012. Yellow-cedar, a culturally and economically valuable tree in southeastern Alaska and adjacent parts of British Columbia, has been dying off across large expanses of these areas for the past 100 years. But no one could say why?until now.
... Surprise finding redraws 'map' of blood cell production - Drs Maria Kauppi (left) and Ashley Ng from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia, study blood 'progenitor' cells A study of the cells that respond to crises in the blood system has yielded a few surprises, redrawing the 'map' of how blood cells are made in the body.
... Researchers visualize the development of Parkinson's cells - In the US alone, at least 500,000 people suffer from Parkinson's disease, a neurological disorder that affects a person's ability to control his or her movement. New technology from the University of Bonn in Germany lets researchers observe the development of the brain cells responsible for the disease.
... Moonlighting enzyme works double shift 24/7 - MSU researchers found a moonlighting enzyme in Arabidopsis that works double shifts 24/7. A team of researchers led by Michigan State University has discovered an overachieving plant enzyme that works both the day and night shifts.
... Biological time-keeper linked to diabetes - Researchers in Lille and Paris demonstrated that mutations in the melatonin receptor gene (melatonin or the "hormone of darkness" induces sleep) lead to an almost sevenfold increase in the risk of developing diabetes. This research, which was published in Nature Genetics on 29 January 2012, could contributed to the development of new drugs for the treatment or prevention of this metabolic disease.
... Defects in the packaging of DNA in malignant brain tumors - Glioblastomas grow extremely aggressively into healthy brain tissue and, moreover, are highly resistant to radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Therefore, they are regarded as the most malignant type of brain tumor. Currently available treatment methods are frequently not very effective against this type of cancer. Glioblastoma can affect people of all ages, but is less common in children than in adults.
... Detecting detrimental change in coral reefs - Over dinner on R.V. Calypso while anchored on the lee side of Glover's Reef in Belize, Jacques Cousteau told Phil Dustan that he suspected humans were having a negative impact on coral reefs. Dustan?a young ocean ecologist who had worked in the lush coral reefs of the Caribbean and Sinai Peninsula?found this difficult to believe. It was December 1974.
... Capturing an octopus-eye view of the Great Barrier Reef - The camera enables the researchers to see an aspect of light that humans are essentially blind to: polarized light. Though humans aren't sensitive to polarized light, many reef dwelling animals are but this has not always been taken into account in previous studies of reef communities.
... Making memories last - Drosophila Orb2 plays an important role in the persistence of memory. Memories in our brains are maintained by connections between neurons called "synapses". But how do these synapses stay strong and keep memories alive for decades? Neuroscientists at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have discovered a major clue from a study in fruit flies: Hardy, self-copying clusters or oligomers of a synapse protein are an essential ingredient for the formation of long-term memory.
... Membrane fusion a mystery no more - The many factors that contribute to how cells communicate and function at the most basic level are still not fully understood, but researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have uncovered a mechanism that helps explain how intracellular membranes fuse, and in the process, created a new physiological membrane fusion model.
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