Due to their underground habitats, moles’ eyes have been modified by natural selection in ways very different from those of surface-dwelling animals. New research offers a detailed anatomical and genetic examination of the changes that result from living life in the dark.
Continue reading about Genetic Explanation For Moles’ Poor Eyesight
Researchers have new insight into the mechanisms that underlie a pathological increase in the size of the heart. The research may lead to the development of new strategies for managing this extremely common cardiac ailment that often leads to heart failure.
Continue reading about Research Uncovers New Steps On Pathway To Enlarged Heart
Scientists have found physical evidence that the people who colonized the Caribbean from South America brought with them heirloom drug paraphernalia that had been passed down from generation to generation as the colonists traveled through the islands.
Continue reading about First Inhabitants Of Caribbean Brought Drug Heirlooms With Them
Cortisol helps our bodies cope with stress, but what about its effects on the brain? A new study in Biological Psychiatry, suggests that the answer to this question is complex. In an animal model of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), high doses of a cortisol-related substance, corticosterone, prevented negative consequences of stress exposure, including increased startle [...]
Researchers have put forward a simple model of development and gene regulation that is capable of explaining patterns observed in the distribution of morphologies and body plans (or, more generally, phenotypes).
Continue reading about Development Puts An End To Evolution Of Endless Forms
Studies in recent years have demonstrated that binge drinking can decrease bone mass and bone strength, increasing the risk of osteoporosis. Now a new study has found a possible mechanism: Alcohol disturbs genes necessary for maintaining healthy bones. The findings could help in the development of new drugs to minimize bone loss in alcohol abusers [...]
Continue reading about Why Binge Drinking Is Bad For Your Bones
A world-first: birth of a white rhino after artificial insemination with frozen sperm. The rhino baby, a male, was born at 4:57am in the Budapest Zoo on the 22nd of October 2008. In June 2007, scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin artificially inseminated his mother, the rhino cow Lulu, [...]
Continue reading about Birth Of White Rhino After Artificial Insemination With Frozen Sperm
Scientists discovered that the activity of a potent AB-degrading enzyme can be unleashed in mouse models of the disease by reducing its natural inhibitor cystatin C.
In colonies of social insects the struggle for the spoils is embodied by a reproductive division of labor. Some individuals (the queens) reproduce, while large and small workers provide the labor. Larvae become different castes (small workers, large workers, or new queens) based on genetics, nutrition, and environment (colony size). However the relative importance of [...]
Continue reading about Caste In Ant Colonies: How Fate Is Determined Between Workers And Queens
Treating all US prisoners who have hepatitis C with the standard therapy of pegylated-interferon and ribavirin would be cost-effective, says a new study.
Continue reading about Hepatitis C Treatment Is Cost-effective For The US Prison Population