Microbiology

Fluorescence Microscopy Reveals Why Some Antifreeze Proteins Inhibit Ice Growth Better Than Others

Antifreeze or “ice structuring” proteins – found in some fish, insects, plants, fungi and bacteria – attach to the surface of ice crystals to inhibit their growth and keep the host organism from freezing to death. Scientists have been puzzled, however, ab ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 6 2007 - 3:14pm

Preventing Early Blindness Using Protein Transport Within Photoreceptors

Researchers at Texas A&M University are shedding light on a rare form of early blindness, identifying the cells involved and paving the way for possible therapies to treat or even prevent what is currently an incurable disease. The findings, funded by ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 7 2007 - 6:01pm

Novel Salamander Robot Crawls Its Way Up The Evolutionary Ladder

A group of European researchers has developed a spinal cord model of the salamander and implemented it in a novel amphibious salamander-like robot. The robot changes its speed and gait in response to simple electrical signals, suggesting that the distribu ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 12 2007 - 1:47am

What Is The Meaning Of "Organic" (And Inorganic) Food?

Before the 18th century, scientists and non-scientists alike assumed that the material substance of living organisms was fundamentally different from that of non-living things-- organisms and their products were considered organic by definition, while non- ...

Article - Lee Silver - Feb 24 2012 - 12:13am

Fountain Of Youth: Molecular Switch Holds Key To Reserve Supply Of Muscle Stem Cells

After injury, even adult muscles can heal very well because they have a reserve supply of muscle stem cells, called satellite cells, which they can utilize for repair. Until now, it was unclear how this supply of satellite and muscle progenitor cells, out ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 12 2007 - 10:57pm

How Long Is A Child A Child?

With an innovative combination of a novel application of synchrotron imaging, high-resolution microtomography, and developmental analysis, the team reconstructed tooth growth and determined the age at death of a fossil juvenile from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco. ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 13 2007 - 11:25am

Highlights From Recent Science Podcasts

I recently posted a list of some of my favorite science podcasts. Today I want to mention a few recent episodes that I think are worth listening to. ...

Article - Ginger Campbell - Mar 13 2007 - 8:25pm

Researchers Identify Molecular Basis Of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis, severely impair the lives of more than four million people worldwide. The development of effective therapies against these diseases requires an understanding of their underlying ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 15 2007 - 12:44am

Do You Need Sex To Be A Species?

If you own a birdbath, chances are you’re hosting one of evolutionary biology’s most puzzling enigmas: bdelloid rotifers. These microscopic invertebrates—widely distributed in mosses, creeks, ponds, and other freshwater repositories—abandoned sex perhaps ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 20 2007 - 12:36pm

No Sex For 40 Million Years? No Problem

A group of organisms that has never had sex in over 40 million years of existence has nevertheless managed to evolve into distinct species, says new research published today. The study challenges the assumption that sex is necessary for organisms to diver ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 21 2007 - 12:29am