Life Sciences and Chemistry
Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.
Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.
Source of physical performance found in brain
New research distinguishes between learning physical skills and brain activity associated with performing those skills
A new study from the Department of Veterans Affairs suggests that the brain’s coordination center is not active while we learn new motor skills – but it is active while we use them. The findings appear in the June 14 issue of Science.
Investigators concentrated on the cerebellum — a part of the brain closely linked to movement (motor skills) and coordinatio
Death by color: spiny spiders’ bright stripes don’t alarm but attract prey, Cornell behavior scientist discovers
Like the glitter and glare of Las Vegas beckoning tourists to the gambling tables, the orb-weaving spiny spider flashes its colorful back to lure unsuspecting quarry into its web. The discovery of this lethal use of color runs contrary to the long-held belief that in the animal kingdom color is used generally to attract mates rather than to entice prey, says a Cornell University animal behavior researcher
“Attraction is all casinos are about. They lure you; they want to get you there. They
Although Controversial, Stem Cell Therapies Exhibit Potential in Biotechnology Markets
Stem cells have enormous potential for repairing damage to the body caused by disease, injury, or aging. When introduced into an injured area of a patient, a stem cell could survive and repopulate the region with different types of cells, forming normal tissue.
Stem cells also offer the prospect of treating many inherited diseases caused by a single, defective gene. Though other treatments are available, such as gene therapy, the longevity of benefits from stem cell treatment provides a tant
NC State Scientist Discovers Mosquito Repellent in Tomatoes
A substance produced by tomatoes repels mosquitoes and other insects more effectively and is safer than DEET, the chemical most commonly used in insect repellents, a North Carolina State University scientist has discovered.
Indeed, work by Dr. Michael Roe, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Entomology at NC State, showed that the natural compound found in tomatoes is so effective at repelling insects that the university patented the substance. The patent describes how the subs
In Evolution Game, Survival Doesn’t Equal Success
Finding has implications for future of biodiversity
A significant number of organisms that survived the five greatest mass extinctions in Earth’s history subsequently failed to achieve evolutionary success, according to a new study funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and conducted by University of Chicago scientist David Jablonski.
“It’s clear that there is a lot of evolutionary action in the aftermath of mass extinctions,” said Jablonski. “During the re
Study of fossils found in arctic shows plants more developed at earlier time
Along with Canadian colleagues, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientist has discovered fossils of plants dating back some 420 million years.
The discovery, made on Bathurst Island in the Northwest Territories about 800 miles from the North Pole, shows vascular plants were more complex at that time than paleontologists previously believed and is significant for that reason, the UNC researcher said.
“These are not the earliest vascular plants ever found, but they are