Biology News

Study: Drop in nSR100 Protein Levels Causes Autistic-Like Behavior in Mice

Mathieu Quesnel-Vallières et al induced autistic-like behavior in mice by lowering the levels of nSR100 protein, which is important for normal brain development. Image credit: Mathieu Quesnel-Vallières et al, doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2016.11.033.
Dec 16, 2016 by News Staff

As many as 33% of autism cases could be explained by a scarcity of a protein called nSR100 in the brain, a new study in the journal Molecular Cell has revealed. Mathieu Quesnel-Vallières et al induced autistic-like behavior in mice by lowering the levels of nSR100 protein, which is important for normal brain development. Image credit: Mathieu Quesnel-Vallières et al, doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2016.11.033. Known best for altered social behaviors, the...

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Minke whale. Image credit: Len Joh / CC BY-ND 2.0.

Mysterious Sound Recorded in Mariana Trench Believed to be from Minke Whales

Dec 15, 2016 by News Staff

A strange sound in the Mariana Trench notable for its complexity likely represents the discovery of a new minke whale call, says a team of marine researchers...

Lechuguilla Cave, New Mexico. Image credit: Max Wisshak.

Multi-Drug Resistant Bacteria Found Deep in New Mexico’s Lechuguilla Cave

Dec 13, 2016 by News Staff

According to a team of researchers led by Gerald Wright, a professor of biochemistry and biomedical sciences at McMaster University, Lechuguilla Cave —...

Bathochordaeus charon and its ‘house’ in Monterey Bay: giant larvaceans use their oikoplastic cells to secrete complex filters or ‘houses’ that allow them to concentrate and feed on particles; a ‘house’ consists of a large, diaphanous outer structure as well as a smaller, more convoluted and bi-lobed inner structure that functions as a filter; together these serve to concentrate appropriately-sized food particles from the surrounding water; in situ, larvaceans in the genus Bathochordaeus are often visible from several meters away because their houses may span a meter in longest dimension. Image credit: MBARI.

Mysterious Deep-Sea Animal Rediscovered after 116 Years

Dec 6, 2016 by Natali Anderson

Bathochordaeus charon — an extremely rare species of giant larvacean — has been rediscovered, more than a century after the only previous known...

This image is a digital reproduction of a painting by John Lewin of a platypus in 1808.

Platypus Venom Could Hold Key to Successful Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes

Dec 1, 2016 by News Staff

The same hormone produced in the gut of the duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) to regulate blood glucose is also produced in the animal’s...

As computer models predicted, genetically modified plants are better able to make use of the limited sunlight available when their leaves go into the shade. Image credit: Julie McMahon.

New Biotechnology Increases Crop Yield by 20%

Dec 1, 2016 by Marcus Nield

Scientists from the University of Illinois have boosted crop yields in a revolutionary procedure that genetically enhances photosynthesis. The UN claims...

Hen Harrier is Actually Two Different Species

Nov 24, 2016 by News Staff

New research confirms that the hen harrier (Circus cyaneus), a medium-sized bird of prey found in parts of North America and Eurasia, is two different...

DNA. Image credit: Qimono.

Only Half of Chromosome is DNA, New Study Reveals

Nov 24, 2016 by News Staff

DNA makes up only half of the material inside chromosomes, according to a new study published in the journal Molecular Cell. Up to 47% of their structure...

Caenorhabditis elegans. Image credit: Bob Goldstein / University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

LITE-1: Researchers Discover New Type of Photoreceptor

Nov 21, 2016 by News Staff

Scientists have discovered a new type of photoreceptor protein that is about 50 times more efficient at capturing light than the rhodopsin, a protein that...

Trypanosoma cruzi, a parasite of the order Kinetoplastida. Image credit: Myron Schultz / CDC.

Scientists Demonstrate that Diets of Organisms Can Affect Their DNA

Nov 17, 2016 by News Staff

In a study on eukaryotic and bacterial parasites, a duo of researchers at the University of Oxford has detected differences in DNA sequences that could...

Goffin’s cockatoos can cut out elongated tools of a cardboard to rake pieces of food. Image credit: Bene Croy.

Goffin’s Cockatoos Filmed Making Same Tool Type from Different Materials

Nov 16, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of researchers from Austria and the UK has shown that Goffin’s cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana) can manufacture and use stick-type...

Piezo proteins transduce physical forces and are activated by mechanical indentation and stretching of cell membranes. By reconstituting these channels in lipid bilayers, Syeda et al show that Piezo 1 channels are stimulated in the absence of other cellular components via a variety of methods, including osmotic imbalance and membrane perturbation. Image credit: Syeda et al, doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.10.033.

Researchers Discover How Piezo Protein Senses Touch

Nov 15, 2016 by News Staff

A new study published in the journal Cell Reports reveals that a protein called Piezo 1 is directly responsible for sensing touch. Knowledge about Piezo...

The Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) can reach record-breaking speeds, according to McCracken et al. Image credit: Max Planck Institute for Ornithology.

Brazilian Free-Tailed Bat is Fastest Flying Animal, New Study Says

Nov 10, 2016 by News Staff

A study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science shows that the Brazilian free-tailed bat can achieve flight speeds of 100 mph (160 km per hour)...

Chimpanzee fishing algae. Image credit: PanAf Project / Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

Chimps Discovered Using Tools to Fish for Algae

Nov 9, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Chimpanzees in Guinea are regularly using long and robust tools to fish for algae, reveals new research published this month in the American Journal of...

Hippo family in Botswana. Image credit: Hans Stieglitz / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Plant-Eating Mammals Have Bigger Bellies, Claims New Study

Nov 7, 2016 by News Staff

Herbivorous, or plant-eating, mammals have bigger bellies than their usually slim carnivorous counterparts, according to a study led by University of Zurich...

Stiphrornis erythothorax, until now the only species in the genus Stiphrornis, by Joseph Smit, 1883, in the Catalogue of the birds in the British Museum, vol. 7.

Three New Species of Forest Robin Discovered in Africa

Nov 7, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Researchers have described three new species in the previously monotypic bird genus Stiphrornis: two from West Africa and one from the Congo. Stiphrornis...

Schematic of gradual induction of severe hypoxemia. Image credit: Yuji Nakada et al, doi: 10.1038/nature20173.

Study: Extremely Low-Oxygen Environment Leads to Heart Regeneration in Adult Mice

Nov 4, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of scientists from Japan, UK and the United States has been able to regenerate heart muscle by placing adult mice in a low-oxygen...

A common swift (Apus apus). Image credit: N. Camilleri.

Common Swifts Can Stay Ten Months in Air without Landing, Claim Ornithologists

Oct 31, 2016 by News Staff

Common swifts (Apus apus) remain airborne for 10 months of their non-breeding period, according to a new study by Lund University ornithologists. A common...

Mark et al demonstrate that vitamin D promotes protein homeostasis and slows aging in the nematode C. elegans. Image credit: Karla A. Mark et al.

Vitamin D Enhances Lifespan and Protein Homeostasis, New Study Shows

Oct 26, 2016 by News Staff

A new animal study published in the journal Cell Reports shows vitamin D engages longevity genes to increase lifespan and prevent the accumulation of toxic...

Illacme tobini. Scale bar - 1 mm. Image credit: P.E. Marek et al.

Researchers Discover New Species of Leggy Millipede in California

Oct 24, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new species of millipede, called Illacme tobini, has been discovered in a cave in Sequoia National Park, California. Illacme tobini. Scale bar –...

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