Locusts switching from solitary to swarming behavior; forecasting protests in China; your Letters to Science; and more.
Despite the fact that most of us see our four-legged friends walking around every day, most of us — including many experts in natural history museums and illustrators for veterinary anatomy text books — apparently still don’t know how they do it. A new study shows that anatomists, taxidermists, and toy designers get the walking [...]
Continue reading about How Does A Dog Walk? Surprisingly, Many Of Us Don’t Really Know
High levels of certain proteins in the spinal fluid could signal the onset of Lou Gehrig’s disease, according to researchers. The discovery of these biomarkers may lead to diagnostic kits for early diagnosis, accurately measuring the progression of the disease and monitoring the effects of treatment.
Continue reading about Spinal Fluid Proteins Signal Lou Gehrig’s Disease
Three billion years ago, a “new” amino acid was added to the alphabet of 20 that commonly make up proteins in organisms today. Now researchers have demonstrated how this rare amino acid — and, by example, other amino acids — made its way into the menu for protein synthesis.
Continue reading about ‘Fishy’ Clue Helps Establish How Proteins Evolve
Scientists analyzed nearly 900 studies on the adverse effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, a class of drugs widely used to treat high cholesterol. The research provides evidence for reported side effects including muscle and cognitive problems.
Scientists and engineers will face a host of obstacles over the next decade in providing clean water to millions of people caught up in a water shortage crisis, a panel of scientists and engineers have said.
Continue reading about Substantial Work Ahead For Water Issues, Say Scientists
Researchers have found the first evidence that athletes who were concussed during their earlier sporting life show a decline in their mental and physical processes more than 30 years later.
Making bales with 30 percent of global crop residues — the stalks and such left after harvesting — and then sinking the bales into the deep ocean could reduce the build up of global carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by up to 15 percent a year, according to new calculations.
Scientists in Sydney and Melbourne Australia have produced results that could silence the current debate about exactly how fat molecules clog up muscle cells, making them less responsive to insulin. The finding is an important milestone in understanding the mechanisms of obesity related insulin resistance, a precursor of Type 2 diabetes.
Continue reading about Diabetes Treatment May Lie In Helping Muscles To Burn Fat Better
Land plants’ ability to sprout upward through the air, unsupported except by their own woody tissues, has long been considered one of the characteristics separating them from aquatic plants, which rely on water to support them. Now lignin, one of the chemical underpinnings vital to the self-supporting nature of land plants — and thought unique [...]