The phrase “king of the jungle” invariably conjures up the image of a majestic, tawny cat with a fluffy mane framing its face. But in fact not all male lions have big hair. In Kenya’s Tsavo National Park–famed for the man-eating lions that reportedly terrorized railroad workers there in the late 1800s–a number of males lack manes altogether. Exactly why this should be the case–or why any lions should have manes, for that matter–has been difficult to explain. To that end, the results of a new

Results of a UK study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET suggest that the antianginal drug nicorandil could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease associated with angina.

Angina occurs in 10% of men aged older than 60 years in the UK (10-15 years later in women), and is a common underlying cause of coronary heart disease (CHD). Aspirin, angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, and statins reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in subgroups of patients with stable angina; however,

Romina, a female Western lowland gorilla at Bristol Zoo Gardens, has successfully undergone pioneering surgery to restore her sight in the first ever cataract operation performed in Europe on an adult gorilla. Born with cataracts, 21-year-old Romina underwent the two-hour procedure at the University of Bristol`s Veterinary Hospital in March and, for the first time in her life, she can now see the world around her clearly.
Romina was born at Rome Zoo and hand-reared. Before her arrival in the UK

Some men send flowers, others send chocolates. But one species of fish has a rather unusual method of seducing the opposite sex. Researchers at the Centre of Marine Science, University of Algarve, Portugal, have been studying how the peacock blenny fish secretes pheromones – chemical ‘love’ signals – from an anal gland.

Dr Eduardo Barata observed peacock blenny over the breeding season, when males occupy holes and crevices in the bottom of the sea which they use as nesting sites where female

Life-threatening pneumonia in bone marrow transplant (BMT) patients can be controlled using a strategy called pre-emptive therapy, scientists heard today (Wednesday 10 April 2002) at the spring meeting of the Society for General Microbiology at the University of Warwick.

“We have found that early diagnosis and treatment of colds and flu in transplant and immunocompromised patients can reduce the risk of pneumonia. But pre-emptive therapy is not just a question of providing drugs to patients.

Epilepsy drugs given to women during pregnancy can treble the risk of congenital malformation or developmental delay in their children, finds research in the Journal of Medical Genetics.

Stopping treatment for epilepsy during pregnancy is not an option, but there is an urgent need to develop safer drugs, conclude the researchers. Six in every 1000 pregnancies will be to a woman treated with epilepsy drugs.

One hundred and forty nine mothers being treated with antiepileptic drugs in

There is a strong genetic component to the gluten intolerance disorder, coeliac disease, shows research in Gut.

In the largest study of its kind, Italian researchers studied 47 twin pairs, who were selected on the basis that one belonged to the Italian Coeliac Disease Association (AIC). They were tested for antibodies specific to coeliac disease to ensure that ‘silent’ disease was detected, and their genetic profile was mapped. Tissue samples were taken to confirm changes indicative of the

Diseases involving irremediable tissue damage of the musculoskeletal system account today for about 15% of hospital admissions in developed countries. With the ageing of the population, this is believed to gain significantly in importance in the coming years.

The majority of the disorders affecting the musculoskeletal system are the joint diseases, in particular osteoarthritis. The latter disease process is typically initiated and associated with defects of the articular cartilage and the un

Many animals are able to rapidly extend their tongues to catch prey. In fact, the chameleon extends its tongue at an acceleration rate of 500 metres per second square – generating 5 times the G force experienced by an F-16 fighter during its most demanding maneouvre! New research presented at the Society for Experimental Biology conference in Swansea today has shed light on exactly how these remarkable feats are achieved.

Dr Johan van Leeuwen of Wageningen University, the Netherlands, sugges

A scientist who studies the phsyics of sperm “as a hobby” is challenging the current understanding of how sperm swim towards an egg. At the Society for Experimental Biology conference today Dr Christopher Lowe will present the results of his modelling of a sperm`s tail, suggesting we may need to re-think our assumptions of how sperm move through fluid.

Experimental studies of sperm have generated a fairly well established database of parameters on sperm movement. The frequency and wavelength

New technology is leading to a vaccine against Group B Streptococci (GBS), a common cause of meningitis as well as a frequent cause of pneumonia in newborns. Key proteins have been found that can kick-start the immune system to fight these bacteria, scientists heard today (Tuesday 09 April 2002) at the spring meeting of the Society for General Microbiology at the University of Warwick.

“We have developed a method to rapidly screen for cell surface proteins in GBS, which can cause pneumonia a

HIV infection can be controlled with antiretroviral drugs, but it cannot be wiped out. New evidence suggests that low levels of HIV may still lead to long-term brain damage and dementia, scientists heard today (Tuesday 09 April 2002) at the spring meeting of the Society for General Microbiology at the University of Warwick.

“There is concern for the longer term outlook of treated patients because of the likely presence of a low grade inflammation of the brain. Infected drug users are at grea

Scientists have discovered that plant leaves activate defence mechanisms against plant eating insects within twenty seconds of an insect walking across them. Dr Alan Bown will be presenting the results of his footsteps research at the Society for Experimental Biology conference on Tuesday 9 April.

Dr Bown and colleagues studied the effects of insects traipsing across leaves, observing the chemical responses in the leaves over time. Ten seconds after larvae had crawled across the leaves, supe

Ticks spread a greater variety of diseases than any other blood-feeding creature, including mosquitoes. Now scientists are developing vaccines that prevent ticks from digesting the blood of their animal or human victim, according to research presented today (Monday 08 April 2002) at the spring meeting of the Society for General Microbiology at the University of Warwick.

“A new solution to controlling tick-borne diseases is to develop vaccines against the ticks and not the microbes that cause

Rumour and secrecy hampers response to report of human clone.

A dearth of information surrounding claims that a woman is pregnant with the first cloned baby is stifling informed scientific judgement or debate. Second-hand reports and rumours highlight a factual vacuum under which a controversial cloning project is proceeding.

Last week, fertility doctor Severino Antinori revealed to Gulf News journalist Kavitha Davies that one of his patients is eight weeks pregnant with a c

The effectiveness of many potentially powerful treatments including drug therapy, gene therapy and cancer chemotherapy is often reduced because it can be difficult to target the treatment exactly where it will be most effective. One of the problems is that it is frequently difficult for drugs, as well as DNA and other biological molecules, to pass through the membranes of the targeted cells. Electroporation (EP), which involves the application of electrical pulses directly to the tissue to be treated