Migration

Vital step in cellular migration described by UCSD medical researchers

A vital molecular step in cell migration, the movement of cells within the body during growth, tissue repair and the body's immune response to invading pathogens, has been demonstrated by researchers in the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. Published in the March 27 online edition of Nature Cell Biology and the journal's upcoming April print edition, the study describ...

Butterfly migration could be largest known

Millions of painted lady butterflies that fluttered into California's Central Valley in the last week of March could be just the advance guard of one of the largest migrations of the species on record, said Arthur Shapiro, a professor and expert on butterflies at UC Davis. Shapiro said he is getting reports of "bill...

Pair of cancer genes found to drive both cell migration and division

Johns Hopkins researchers have found that two genes already known to control cell movement are also needed for proper cell division. They report their findings in the April issue of Developmental Cell. The researchers discovered that the two genes are required for a dividing cell's halves to separate, raising the possibility that interfering with them could be helpful in stopping the uncon...

Leprosy genome tells story of human migrations, French researchers report in Science

A French genetics study comparing strains of leprosy-causing bacteria has revealed some surprises about how the pathogen evolved and how it was spread across the continents by human migrations. The research, led by scientists at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, appears in the 13 May issue of the journal Science, published by AAAS, the nonprofit science society. The findings indicate that t...

Spring migration of pink-footed geese under threat

As thousands of pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus) prepare for their spring migration north to breeding grounds in the Arctic, ecologists are warning that the escalating conflict between farmers and the geese is threatening the birds' survival. Writing in the new issue of the British Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology, Professor Marcel Klaassen of the Netherlands Institute of E...

New analysis shows three human migrations out of Africa

A new, more robust analysis of recently derived human gene trees by Alan R. Templeton, Ph.D, of Washington University in St Louis, shows three distinct major waves of human migration out of Africa instead of just two, and statistically refutes –strongly ?the 'Out of Africa' replacement theory. That theory holds that populations of Homo sapiens left Africa 100,000 years ago and wiped out e...

Study reveals mass migration of mormon crickets driven by hunger, fear

An international team of researchers, including Kent State University professor Dr. Patrick D. Lorch, have revealed the motivating factors behind the seasonal mass migration of Mormon crickets in western North America. Throughout th...

A dichotomy in migration patterns found for sea turtles in east Atlantic

Studying members of a large population of loggerhead sea turtles that nest on the Cape Verde islands off of West Africa, researchers have found an unexpected dichotomy in turtle behavior: While some turtles leave the nesting grounds to feed on bottom-dwelling sea life in shallow coastal waters, others leave Cape Verde to roam the much deeper open ocean along the African coast and exhibit a distin...

Research links protein to breast-cancer migration

Scientists have moved a step closer to understanding how breast cancer spreads to other parts of the body, thanks to research published this week. The researchers believe their findings could lead to new approaches to treating breast cancer as blockin...

Dragonfly migration resembles that of birds, scientists say

Scientists have discovered that migrating dragonfliesand songbirds exhibit many of the same behaviors, suggesting the rulesthat govern such long-distance travel may be simpler and more ancientthan was once thought. The research, published in the May 11 Biology Letters, is based on datagenerated by tracking 14 green darner dragonflies with radiotransmitters weighing only 300 milligrams -- a...

Viral marker of human migration suspect

A benign virus previously used as a marker in tracing human migration may be unreliable, according to researchers at Penn State. Results of this study also suggest that some viruses might be undergoing much higher rates of evolution than previously thought. "The most genetically divergent human populations are in Africa," said Laura Shackelton, a postdoctoral researcher at Penn State's Cen...

Migration played key role in HIV spread in South Africa

Long-term exposure to marijuana smoke is linked to many of the same health problems as tobacco smoke, such as increased respiratory symptoms like cough, phlegm and wheeze, according to a new study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine. Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States, and abuse of the drug is on the rise. The study is published in today's Archives o...

UCI scientists reconstruct migration of avian flu virus

UC Irvine researchers have combined genetic and geographic data of the H5N1 avian flu virus to reconstruct its history over the past decade. They found that multiple strains of the virus originated in the Chinese province of Guangdong, and they identified many of the migration routes through which the strains spread regionally and internationally. By knowing where H5N1 strains develop and...

Migration alert -- How tumor cells home in on the lymphatic system

Scientists know that tumor cells spread via the lymphatic system, but they don’t understand the details of how this deadly migratio...