Honeybees are increasingly under threat. To help save these creatures from extinction, researchers from York University have found a group of genes that appears to be related to how hygienic a particular colony of bees is, and selective breeding for these genes could help fight colony collapse.
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Sometimes the immune system gets it wrong, targeting harmless proteins from things like nuts and triggering allergic reactions. Now, researchers have identified a mechanism that helps keep the immune system in check, potentially leading to drugs that prevent allergic reactions before they start.
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Human females are one of only five animals known to experience menopause and live past their reproductive prime, but why we evolved this way is still a mystery. Two new studies add weight to the hypothesis suggesting the presence of grandmothers increase survival rates for grandchildren.
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Tumors are made up of many different types of cancer cells, and we can’t always clear them all out. Now Oxford researchers have developed a way to track the genetic “life histories” of thousands of individual cancer cells at once, which may lead to more effective and personalized cancer treatments.
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Many times, when new species are discovered, the characteristics that set them apart can only be appreciated by scientists. That isn't the case with the Ceratogyrus attonitifer tarantula, however – the thing has a long, soft horn protruding out of its back, and nobody knows why it's there.
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New fossils found in the African country of Gabon have turned up the earliest evidence of life showing some initiative and moving around of its own accord. It now seems that life was mobile some 1.5 billion years earlier than previously thought.
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Researchers at Penn State may have found a way to boost the brain’s regenerative abilities, using certain molecules to convert neighboring cells into new neurons. The technique could eventually lead to pills that treat brain injuries, stroke or Alzheimer’s disease.
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Humans can recognize their own face in the mirror, and so can apes, monkeys, dolphins, elephants, and some birds. Now a fish species has passed the mirror test for the first time, which may suggest that the animals are smarter than we give them credit for.
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For such simple organisms, bacteria are surprisingly crafty when it comes to defending themselves from antibiotics. Now researchers at Princeton have discovered a new bacterial defense mechanism, where dying bugs will “hoard” antibiotics to allow their neighbors to grow unharmed.
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Neuroscientists discovered that electrically stimulating the cingulum brain region creates a mild euphoria complete with laughter, and used it to calm down a patient undergoing a brain surgery where she needed to stay awake. It could be used as a treatment for anxiety, depression or chronic pain.
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