Most countries throughout the world participate in the $40-million-per-year culinary trade of frog legs in some way, with 75 percent of frog legs consumed in France, Belgium and the United States. Scientists have found that this trade is a potential carrier of pathogens deadly to amphibians.
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Researchers have identified a gene that tells embryonic stem cells in the brain when to stop producing nerve cells called neurons. The research is a significant advance in understanding the development of the nervous system, which is essential to addressing conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders.
Continue reading about On your last nerve: Researchers advance understanding of stem cells
Rodent, reptile and ant lion species behave differently on either side of the Israel-Jordan border. Researchers found that Israeli gerbils are more cautious than their Jordanian friends, and the funnel-digging ant lion population in Israel is unmistakably larger than in Jordan.
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Many biological processes are controlled by small molecules known as microRNAs. Researchers have now identified a previously unknown microRNA (miR-2861) as crucial to bone maintenance in mice and humans; significantly, expression of functional miR-2861 was absent in two related adolescents with primary osteoporosis.
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A new study suggests that naturally occurring bacteria on the skin of salamanders could help protect other amphibians, including some species of endangered frogs, from a lethal skin disease.
People preferentially marry those with similar ancestry, but their decisions are not necessarily based on hair, eye or skin color. Research shows that Mexicans mate according to proportions of Native-American to European ancestry, while Puerto Ricans are more likely to settle down with someone carrying a similar mix of African and European genes.
Researchers have shown how an experimental drug might restore the function of nerves damaged in spinal cord injuries by preventing short circuits caused when tiny “potassium channels” in the fibers are exposed.
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Real-life particles released by car brake pads can harm lung cells in vitro. Researchers found that heavy braking, as in an emergency stop, caused the most damage, but normal breaking and even close proximity to a disengaged brake resulted in potentially dangerous cellular stress.
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A nutritionist in Nigeria says that malnutrition and iron deficiency in schoolchildren could be reduced in her country by baking up snail pie. She explains snail is not only cheaper and more readily available than beef but contains more protein.
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Resurgence of thalidomide use in Africa and South America raises the urgent need to isolate the negative side effects by identifying the drug’s “common mechanism.”
Continue reading about Solving the 50-year-old puzzle of thalidomide