Life Sciences and Chemistry

Learning the molecular processes that cause termite larvae to grow into workers, soldiers or reproductive adults may lead to new methods to decimate colonies of the wood-eaters, according to Purdue University researchers.

The scientists identified 25 genes that provide some of the first information concerning the differentiation of the insects based on the role they play within a colony. The study, published in this month’s issue of the journal Genome Biology (http://genomebiology.com/2003

Researchers find that ’one sniff will do’ for odor discrimination

Rats inhabit a world of smells far beyond our poor powers to discriminate. Thousands of odors that smell the same to us, or that we cannot perceive at all, are quickly recognizable as distinct and meaningful odors to rodents and other animals in which the Nose Knows. But just how quick?

By measuring the speed of smell, researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have now found that unlike humans, rat

The red flour beetle can be a pest in massive grain elevators or in the 5-pound sack of flour in your kitchen. But it also can be an important organism in the field of genetic research.

As the result of research performed by scientists from Kansas State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Grain Marketing and Production Research Lab in Manhattan, the red flour beetle has been selected from a long list of nominated organisms for genome sequencing by the National Human Gen

A specific enzyme that is a central part in the regulation of body temperature has been identified by a research team at Linkoping University, Sweden. The enzyme is a potential target in the development of new and selective fever reducing drugs.
Professor Anders Blomqvist, MD David Engblom and co-authors are publishing their findings in Nature Neuroscience.

Fever is caused when small, easily diffusible molecules known as prostaglandin E2 are bonded to receptors on deep neural structures

The aim of this PhD is to study the retention of transition metals by humic substances. Transition metals are essential for life but, depending on their concentration in the environment, they can prove to be toxic and provoke serious environmental impact.

Humic substances are, on the other hand, macromolecules arising from the physical, chemical and microbiological transformation (humification) of biomolecules, explains Álvarez Puebla. Their importance is fundamental as they make up the mos

Scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School have identified two genes responsible for an important, yet often overlooked difference between the sexes.

One of the less evident physiological differences between males and females resides in the liver. Male and female livers express different subsets of genes, which affect the organ’s ability to metabolize certain drugs and hormones. This in turn impacts numerous processes, such as reproduction. While the sexual dimorphism of t