Antarctica's Dry Valleys may not be so dry. A helicopter-borne sensor that penetrates below the surface of large swathes of terrain has found compelling evidence that ice-free McMurdo Dry Valleys may be hiding a salty aquifer.

Brines, or salty water, form extensive aquifers below glaciers, lakes and within permanently frozen soils. If they are present, it might provide answers about the biological adaptations of previously unknown ecosystems that persist in the extreme cold and dark of the Antarctic winter.

Researchers have discovered areas in the tropical North Atlantic, several hundred kilometers off the coast of West Africa, with extremely low levels of oxygen, making them uninhabitable for most marine animals.

The levels measured in these 'dead zones' are the lowest ever recorded in Atlantic open waters.

Researchers have used mathematical equations to shed new light on how flowing fluid hinders the movement of bacteria in their search for food. Many bacteria are mobile and inhabit a variety of dynamic fluid environments: from turbulent oceans to medical devices such as catheters.

Since the first attempts at classifying bacteria in the 17th century, shape has been an important feature, yet it is still not fully understood how shape affects the ability of bacteria to navigate their environments.

Spring is here and that means fewer airplanes need to be de-iced. That may be good, according to a new study which finds that de-icing agents accumulated during the winter, which end up on unpaved areas and infiltrate into the soils during snowmelt, could end up in groundwater.

Weight loss is never easy but obesity is the big risk factor Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, so clearly people who have it aren't likely to just diet and for that reason gastric band surgery has become more popular.

Yet it may not be necessary. A small pilot programl led by Joslin Diabetes Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers found that an intensive group-based medical diabetes and weight management program achieved similar improvements in controlling blood sugar levels after one year. 

The human body is a cross between a factory and a construction zone -- at least on the cellular level. Certain proteins act as project managers, which direct a wide variety of processes and determine the fate of the cell as a whole.

One group of proteins called the WD-repeat (WDR) family helps a cell choose which of the thousands of possible gene products it should manufacture. These WDR proteins fold into a three-dimensional structure resembling a doughnut -- an unusual shape that allows WDR proteins to act as stable platforms on which large protein complexes can assemble or disassemble.