seek in Biological News

Conservationists seek to identify prime stopover sites for migrating birds

An ambitious effort in avian conservation is underway this spring throughout the New York portion of the Lake Ontario watershed. A legion of highly skilled volunteer ornithologists is helping a team of scientists to identify the best stopover sites for migrating birds in the southern coastal zo...

Penn State entomologists seek fungus to blunt mosquitoes' sense of smell

Sick people often lose their sense of smell and their appetite. If this happened to mosquitoes, they would not be able to feed on humans and spread malaria. A team of Penn State entomologists is looking for an insect disease that will infect mosquitoes and impair their sense of smell. Supported ...

Zoologists: Sea snakes seek out freshwater to slake thirst

GAINESVILLE, Fla. Sea snakes may slither in saltwater, but they sip the sweet stuff. So concludes a University of Florida zoologist in a paper appearing this month in the online edition of the November/December issue of the journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology . Harvey Lillywhite ...

Carbon Disclosure Project: 'World's largest corporations seek clarity on climate change regulation'

Global corporations view climate change as a driver of risk and opportunity and have cited clear regulation as key to managing the impacts, in this year's findings from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), which includes exclusive data from 1550 of the world's major companies on greenhouse gas emi...

Nations and conservation groups seek plan to protect 'Ghost of the Himalayas'

Beijing, China (March 6, 2008) Snow leopards the worlds most elusive big cat roam the high mountains across 12 Asian nations, from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan. Representatives from those countries, along with leading big cat experts, are expected in Beijing from March 9 11 to frame a multinati...

Physician-scientists seek solutions to reproductive problems related to chromosomal variations

NEW YORK (Dec. 19, 2007) -- Approximately one in every 500 to 650 baby boys is born with an extra X chromosome, a variation in their genetic code that until a few years ago was thought to result in infertility in all cases. However, this is no longer the case. A recent conference hosted by NewYork...

Using carbon nanotubes to seek and destroy anthrax toxin and other harmful proteins

Troy, N.Y. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new way to seek out specific proteins, including dangerous proteins such as anthrax toxin, and render them harmless using nothing but light. The technique lends itself to the creation of new antibacterial and antimicrobia...

Scientists seek useful traits in wild cottons

If you have Mom's smile, Dad's eyes and Grandpa's laugh, you might wonder what other traits you picked up from the genealogic fabric of the ol' family tree. Scientists at the Texas A&M University System Agricultural Research and Extension at Lubbock are studying the family tree of cotton...

Researchers seek to design first treatment for neuroAIDS

Experimental drugs are showing promise against neuroAIDS, the nerve damage caused by HIV infection that lessens many patients' ability to think and move. As evidence of the progress, researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center today received a $7 million grant to confirm that two new ...

UVa researchers seek to unlock broccoli's cancer fighting secret

After all these years, mom was right. She knew broccoli was good for you, she just didn't know it was this good. "Everyone knows broccoli is good for you and that it contains compounds known to lessen the occurrence of some types of cancer. We want to know how these compounds work and what their ...

Researchers seek to solve mystery of natural HIV control

An international, multi-institutional research consortium is seeking to discover how a few HIV-infected individuals are naturally able to suppress replication of the virus. The Elite Controller Collaborative Study ( http://www.mgh.harvard.edu/aids/hiv_elite_controllers.asp ), the first large-scale...

Scientists seek to unwrap the sweet mystery of the sugar coat on bacteria

Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a quick and simple way to investigate the sugar coating that surrounds bacteria and plays a role in infection and immunity. The sugars coating bacteria can change very quickly during the course of an infection, cloaking the bacteria f...

On a wing and a prayer - Alaska researchers seek clues to bird flu

While Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" made many of us uneasy at the sight of amassing gulls years ago, today public health officials around the world are beginning to cast an equally uneasy eye toward migratory birds, especially in Alaska, following recent outbreaks of avian influenza in Southeast A...

Retina adapts to seek the unexpected, ignore the commonplace

Researchers at Harvard University have found evidence that the retina actively seeks novel features in the visual environment, dynamically adjusting its processing in order to seek the unusual while ignoring the commonplace. The scientists report in this week's issue of the journal Nature on their ...

Researchers seek to discover what really happens when a virus enters the body

A well-respected researcher who is now a chief of an immunology laboratory of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has rocked the boat in the past few years for the experts in the understanding of the autoimmune system. NIH's Polly Matzinger has developed the "danger model," suggesting that th...

Scientists seek answers on what activates deadly anthrax spores

Scientists at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and three other institutions are setting out to find what activates the spores in anthrax, the deadly bacterial infection that is back in the news. "A key aspect of anthrax spore biology concerns the germination process through which the...

Marine microbes creating green waves in industry

...is for industrially relevant enzymes which will reduce waste and increase productivity in the manufacture of drugs and agrochemicals. The enzymes they seek have the ability to convert compounds that would have previously been waste products in the manufacturing process, into the desired product, therefore...

Family planning a major environmental impact

...ight now are steadily increasing their carbon emissions and industrial development, and other developing nations may also continue to increase as they seek higher standards of living," Murtaugh said. The study examined several scenarios of changing emission rates, the most aggressive of which was an 85...

Maternal, paternal genes' tug-of-war may last well into childhood

...emy of Sciences , is the latest wrinkle in the two-decades-old theory known as genomic imprinting, which holds that each parent contributes genes that seek to nudge his or her children's development in a direction most favorable, and least costly, to that parent. "Compared to other primates, human babi...

Genetic tests advertised directly to the consumer

...c testing, providing the following cautionary advice: Verify with a professional, the information presented in advertisements of genetic testing seek advice from a genetic clinician, not just a general health care professional Recognize the scientific limitations of each test, especially since the ...

Faster, more cost-effective DNA test for crime scenes, disease diagnosis

...of a new PCR method, called the universal QProbe system, that overcomes these problems. Existing PCR processes require several "fluorescent probes" to seek out DNA. QProbe substitutes a single "fluorescent probe" that can detect virtually any target, saving time and cutting costs. The new method also is m...

Sustainable bioenergy project has global launch

...rgy --biofuels, heat and electricity -- as a prominent factor in meeting global energy needs. Scientists from around the world are joining forces to seek resolution of issues related to sustainable production of energy from biomass. "There are tremendous opportunities to integrate biomass production w...

International team of students and scientists on month-long field course in Siberian Arctic

...is is performed, and how to formulate hypotheses and test them. While in Siberia, I was able to explore the surrounding landscape, ask questions, and seek answers. I feel very fortunate to have been given this opportunity (twice, as I am returning again this summer) and am excited to return this summer ...

Singapore nanotechnology combats fatal brain infections

...ng and Nanotechnology (IBN) of Singapore and reported in Nature Nanotechnology . The stable bioengineered nanoparticles devised at IBN effectively seek out and destroy bacteria and fungal cells that could cause fatal infections and are highly therapeutic. Major brain infections such as meningitis a...

A urine test for appendicitis?

...ing, suggesting that a rapid clinical test, such as a urine dipstick, could be developed through further research. Bachur, Steen and Kentsis now seek to develop quantitative LRG urine assays and further validate their findings. "Recent diagnostic advances have focused on advanced radiologic procedu...

UBC researchers develop new method to study gambling addictions

...ng treatments for humans by giving us a working model to explore drugs and therapies," says Winstanley. In future studies, Winstanley says she will seek to replicate other aspects of human gambling behaviours, including "loss-chasing" when a gambler follows a loss with a high-risk gamble and the "nea...

TRAPping proteins that work together inside living cells

...nism's cells. Whole fields of research are dedicated to teasing out which proteins work together to make cells function. For example, drug researchers seek chemicals that disrupt or otherwise change how proteins interact to combat diseases; environmental scientists need to understand how proteins collabor...

Promising device snags young inventors coveted spot at IShow

...diovascular system and can be predictive of acute episodes, such as heart failure. If used daily, the device will indicate when a patient needs to seek medical attention, potentially heading off dangerous episodes and preventing costly emergency room visits and ambulance rides, the inventors said. ...

The BBVA Foundation presents its Frontiers of Knowledge Awards

...usiness worlds. The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards, with a combined purse of 3.2 million euros spread across eight prize categories, seek to recognize and encourage world-class research and artistic creation. The awards lend special importance to basic knowledge and interdisciplinary ach...

Hunt for 'climate-ready' crops accelerates as organizations search seed collections worldwide

...nst climate change." The grants cover projects initiated by scientists in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe. They involve a range of crops and seek a variety of important plant traits. For example: Scientists in Portugal and Angola are jointly investigating the ability of 100 samples of nativ...

NIH announces new program to develop therapeutics for rare and neglected diseases

...le treatment must still be tested in a series of clinical trials. TRND will seek to take advantage of several NIH resources that can help launch human studi...ether a treatment is working. To address these difficulties, TRND will seek a wide range of collaborations with academic researchers as well as partner...

Tumor growth and chemo response may be predicted by mathematical model

...er cells grown in the laboratory to determine whether a prescribed drug will reach the tumor in sufficient quantities to kill the malignant cells. "We seek to improve the precision of prescribing chemotherapeutic drugs, since it is sometimes hard to tell which will work and which will not, and what the op...

WPI professor receives Fulbright Scholarship to work on tissue engineering in Ireland

...f connective tissue is critical to building engineered replacements for diseased tissue. In the research component of his Fulbright work, Billiar will seek to develop novel techniques for probing these relationships at the scale or nanometers, particularly as they relate to the scaffolds, or support struc...

Study reveals conflict between doctors, midwives over homebirth

...orking with Lane County obstetrician Dr. Paul Qualtere-Burcher to draft guidelines that would help midwives and their clients decide when they need to seek medical help, based in large part on Cheyney's research, and another that would ask physicians to recognize midwives as legitimate caregivers. Qual...

Muscular dystrophy diagnosis delayed almost 2.5 years in boys

...diagnosis will avoid unnecessary and costly tests and numerous unnecessary referrals to the wrong specialists. Parents and maternal relatives can also seek genetic counseling before they plan to have more children." DMD, the most common muscular dystrophy in children is a particularly devastating form ...

American Chemical Society's weekly PressPac -- May 6, 2009

...EU) regulations restricting use of animals to test the safety of shampoo, nail polish, and other personal care products are forcing cosmetic makers to seek alternative ways to test these products, according to an article scheduled for the May 11 issue of Chemical & Engineering News , ACS' weekly newsmaga...

6 young ASU faculty earn NSF Career awards

...ly referred to as STEM courses. STEM materials are "heavy with diagrams and illustrations" presenting a challenge for sight-impaired students who must seek out services to assist them in comprehending the illustrations that are central to STEM studies." The effort to aid STEM students will have a broad...

Red pandas reveal an unexpected (artificial) sweet tooth

...re and function of the sweet receptor gene across species and how this relates to differences in taste preferences and diet selection, the researchers seek to provide a framework to increase understanding of individual differences in human taste function, food choice and nutritional health. "The taste ...

Findings show insulin -- not genes -- linked to obesity

...are overweight, and nearly one-third obese. The research, which has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, is ongoing. Future work may seek to pinpoint specific events in the insulin-signaling cascade that are responsible for fat storage. ...

Eat, drink and be merry?

...d at tackling childhood obesity, by reducing children's consumption of unhealthy food and drink, are likely to be more effective if they also actively seek to keep children happy in other ways, according to Professor Hung-Hao Chang from National Taiwan University and Professor Rodolfo Nayga from the Unive...