Like silkworm moths, butterflies and spiders, caddisfly larvae spin silk, but they do so underwater instead on dry land. Now, researchers have discovered why the fly’s silk is sticky when wet and how that may make it valuable as an adhesive tape during surgery.
Continue reading about Glue, fly, glue: Caddisflies’ underwater silk adhesive might suture wounds
Mosquitoes — not birds as suspected– — may have a played a primary role in spreading West Nile virus westward across the United States, according to new research. The study is among the first to examine the role of mosquitoes in the dispersion of West Nile virus across the U.S.
Continue reading about Mosquitoes — not birds — may have carried West Nile virus across U.S.
Scientists broadly agree that global warming may threaten the survival of many plant and animal species; but global warming did not kill the Monteverde golden toad, an often cited example of climate-triggered extinction, says a new study.
Continue reading about El Niño and a pathogen, not global warming, killed Costa Rican toad
Researchers have found that non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a good diagnostic tool for the evaluation and staging of testicular cancer and may improve patient care by sparing some men unnecessary surgery.
Continue reading about MRI: Non-invasive diagnostic tool for diagnosing testicular cancer
The same antifreeze proteins that keep organisms from freezing in cold environments also can prevent ice from melting at warmer temperatures, according to a new study.
Continue reading about Antifreeze proteins can stop ice melt, new study finds
A survey of parents who had a child die of cancer found one in eight considered hastening their child’s death, a deliberation influenced by the amount of pain the child experienced during the last month of life, researchers report. The study suggests that many parents worry that their children will suffer from uncontrollable pain. The [...]
Sixty-seven million years ago, when dinosaur hatchlings first scrambled out of their eggs, their first — and last — glimpse of the world might have been the open jaws of a 3.5-meter-long snake named Sanajeh indicus, based on the discovery in India of a nearly complete fossilized skeleton of a primitive snake coiled inside a [...]
The underlying causes of the debilitating psychiatric disorder schizophrenia remain poorly understood. In a new study, however, scientists report that a powerful gene network analysis has revealed surprising new insights into how gene regulation and age play a role in schizophrenia.
If the behavior of the seasonal form of the H1N1 influenza virus is any indication, scientists say that chances are good that most strains of the pandemic H1N1 flu virus will become resistant to Tamiflu, the main drug stockpiled for use against it. Researchers have traced the evolutionary history of the seasonal H1N1 influenza virus, [...]
Continue reading about Pandemic flu, like seasonal H1N1, shows signs of resisting Tamiflu
While the majority of children who were affected by consuming toxic melamine-contaminated products in China recovered, kidney abnormalities remained in 12 percent of the affected children, according to a new article.