Role of key genetic catalyst for human diversity discovered

One of the key drivers of human evolution and diversity, accounting for changes that occur between different generations of people, is explained by new research.

Talented bacteria make food poisoning unpredictable

While we are often exposed to bacteria in our food which could cause food poisoning, we don't always become ill -- why should this be so? New research sheds light on how bacteria use different tricks to aid their survival inside the body, helping to explain why food poisoning can be so unpredictable.

Increase in Cambodia's vultures gives hope to imperiled scavengers

While vultures across Asia teeter on the brink of extinction, the vultures of Cambodia are increasing in number, providing a beacon of hope for these threatened scavengers, according wildlife conservation experts.

Satellite data reveals why migrating birds have a small window to spread bird flu

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 realised, and now new research 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.

Breaking up phosphorus with ultraviolet light may offer a safer, simpler way to build many industrial and household chemicals

Phosphorus, a mineral element found in rocks and bone, is a critical ingredient in fertilizers, pesticides, detergents and other industrial and household chemicals. Now chemists have developed a new way to attach phosphorus to organic compounds by first splitting the phosphorus with ultraviolet light. Their method eliminates the need for chlorine, which is usually required for such reactions and poses health risks to workers handling the chemicals.

Non-invasive therapy significantly improves depression, researchers say

A unique new therapy that applies electrical stimulation to a major nerve emanating from the brain is showing promise for major depression. In a recently completed clinical trial, trigeminal nerve stimulation achieved an average of a 70 percent reduction in symptom severity over an 8-week study.

New self-assembling photovoltaic technology repairs itself

Scientists have created a novel set of self-assembling molecules that can turn sunlight into electricity; the molecules can be repeatedly broken down and then reassembled quickly, just by adding or removing an additional solution.

Backstabbing bacteria: A new treatment for infection?

Selfish bacterial cells that act in their own interests and do not cooperate with their infection-causing colleagues can actually reduce the severity of infection. The selfish behaviour of these uncooperative bacteria could be exploited to treat antibiotic-resistant infections, according to new research.

Lake Michigan ecosystem may crash: 'Doughnut' of phytoplankton disappearing

In 1998, Charlie Kerfoot discovered a "doughnut" of phytoplankton circulating in Lake Michigan, helping to feed the lake's famous fishery. Just 12 later, the doughnut is disappearing, and Kerfoot fears that the lake's ecosystem will crash, taking with it much of the fish biomass.

Induced pluripotent stem cell retain an inactivated X chromosome, study finds

Female induced pluripotent stem cells, reprogrammed from human skin cells into cells that have the embryonic-like potential to become any cell in the body, retain an inactive X chromosome, stem cell researchers have found.

Ancient Brewmasters Made Medicinal Beer

In 1980, a scientist looking at bone fragments under an ultraviolet microscope noticed the bones were glowing green--a hallmark of the antibiotic tetracycline. The drug latches onto calcium and gets deposited in bone. Nothing unusual. Except these bones were from a Nubian mummy buried 1,600 years ago in Sudan--long before scientists discovered tetracycline, in 1948. [More]

Contemplating the end of the world, math, mystery and other things

I suffer from eschatological obsession. That is, I spend lots of time brooding about ends. So the cover of the September Scientific American --which reads simply "the end."--made me all shivery, like when I hear the spooky sitar opening of The Doors' apocalyptic rock poem "The End." (I'm never more Freudian than when I hear Morrison's Oedipal yowl.) [More]

Man's new best friend? A forgotten Russian experiment in fox domestication

Dmitri K. Belyaev, a Russian scientist, may be the man most responsible for our understanding of the process by which wolves were domesticated into our canine companions. Dogs began making for themselves a social niche within human culture as early as 12,000 years ago in the Middle East . But Belyaev didn’t study dogs or wolves; his research focused instead on foxes. What might foxes be able to tell us about the domestication of dogs?

Domesticated animals of widely different species seem to share some common traits: changes in body size, in fur coloration, in the timing ...

Why a Good Deal Can Seem Unfair