Latest and Breaking Biology News

Hair provides proof of the link between chronic stress and heart attack
3 September 2010, 4:00 am
(University of Western Ontario) Researchers at the University of Western Ontario have provided the first direct evidence using a biological marker, to show chronic stress plays an important role in heart attacks. Drs. Gideon Koren and Stan Van Uum developed a method to measure cortisol levels in hair providing an accurate assessment of stress levels in the months prior to an acute event such as a heart attack. The research is published online in the journal Stress.

Satellite data reveal why migrating birds have a small window to spread bird flu
3 September 2010, 4:00 am
(Wiley-Blackwell) In 2005 an outbreak of the H5N1 "bird flu" virus in South East Asia led to widespread fear with predictions that the intercontinental migration of wild birds could lead to global pandemic. Such fears were never realized, and now research published in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology reveals why the global spread of bird flu by direct migration of wildfowl is unlikely, while also providing a new framework for quantifying the risk of avian-borne diseases.

Researchers identify how bone-marrow stem cells hold their 'breath' in low-oxygen environments
3 September 2010, 4:00 am
(UT Southwestern Medical Center) UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified unique metabolic properties that allow a specific type of stem cell in the body to survive and replicate in low-oxygen environments.

Census of Marine Life program tracking animals on Pacific continental shelf
2 September 2010, 4:00 am
(Census of Marine Life) The Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking Program uses sound to track marine animals along the west coast of North America. Using hundreds of acoustic receivers (think of ears with computer hard drives attached) anchored to the sea floor, POST maintains listening lines running perpendicular to the coast, from shore to the edge of the continental shelf. The acoustic receivers record passing animals carrying acoustic tags, each one sending out a signal audible to the receivers.

Tropical forests slashed for farmland
2 September 2010, 4:00 am
(Stanford University) A new study led by a Stanford researcher shows that more than 80 percent of the new farmland created in the tropics between 1980 and 2000 came from felling forests, which sends carbon into the atmosphere and drives global warming. But the research team also noted that big agribusiness has largely replaced small farmers in doing most of the tree cutting in Brazil and Indonesia, which may make it easier to rein in the trend.

Test-tube calf embryos more likely to survive Texas summers
2 September 2010, 4:00 am
(Texas A&M AgriLife Communications) Texas AgriLife researchers have found that embryo transfer can double dairy cow pregnancy rates during the summer and increase the number of heifers born as compared with conventional artificial insemination commonly used on dairy farms. They believe this method could save dairies in Texas and throughout the country considerable money.

UCSF unveils model for implantable artificial kidney to replace dialysis
2 September 2010, 4:00 am
(University of California - San Francisco) UCSF researchers today unveiled a prototype model of the first implantable artificial kidney, in a development that one day could eliminate the need for dialysis.

University at Buffalo symposium on in silico methods, high throughput screening
2 September 2010, 4:00 am
(University at Buffalo) Twenty-first century drug discovery tools, including those targeted to develop new treatments for cancer and hereditary eye diseses, will be featured at "Twenty-first Century Bioscience: In Silico Methods and High-Throughput Screening," a University at Buffalo symposium on Sept. 11. The symposium will be held at the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, 700 Ellicott St., Buffalo from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Low grades in adolescence linked to dopamine genes
2 September 2010, 4:00 am
(Florida State University) The academic performance of adolescents will suffer in at least one of four key subjects -- English, math, science, history -- if their DNA contains one or more of three specific dopamine gene variations, according to a study led by renowned biosocial criminologist Kevin M. Beaver of the Florida State University.

GEN reports on the greening of the life sciences
2 September 2010, 4:00 am
(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News) Biopharmaceutical firms and other life science organizations are taking definitive steps toward creating greener working environments and developing more sustainable operations, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. This promising trend was made clear through a series of presentations and panel discussions that took place at GEN's "GreenBioPharma" conference, which was recently held in Philadelphia.