A study of venomous snails on remote Pacific islands reveals genetic underpinnings of an ecological phenomenon that has fascinated scientists since Darwin. The research is by University of Michigan evolutionary biologists Tom Duda and Taehwan Lee. In the study, Duda and Lee explored ecological release, a phenomenon thought to be responsible for some of the most dramatic diversifications of living ...

Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have identified a critical molecular mechanism that allows the influenza virus to evade the body`s immune response system. "We have found a mechanism that the influenza virus uses to inhibit the body`s immune response that emphasizes the vital role of a certain protein in defending against viruses,"," says Jae Jung, Ph.D., p...

The most extensive study of pollutants in marine mammals’ brains reveals that these animals are exposed to a hazardous cocktail of pesticides such as DDTs and PCBs, as well as emerging contaminants such as brominated flame retardants. Eric Montie, the lead author on the study currently in press and published online April 17 in Environmental Pollution, performed the research as a student in t...

Most cancers are rare in people with Down syndrome, whose overall cancer mortality is below 10 percent of that in the general population. Since they have an extra copy of chromosome 21, it`s been proposed that people with Down syndrome may be getting an extra dose of one or more cancer-protective genes. The late cancer researcher Judah Folkman, MD, founder of the Vascular Biology Program at Childr...

Scientists have called it "junk DNA." They have long been perplexed by these extensive strands of genetic material that dominate the genome but seem to lack specific functions. Why would nature force the genome to carry so much excess baggage? Now researchers from Princeton University and Indiana University who have been studying the genome of a pond organism have found that junk DNA may...

The recent findings by a team of Northeastern University ecologists studying plant life on the Boston Harbor Islands may advance societal efforts to stem the damage caused by invading exotic species. When these non-native species of plants gain a toehold and start colonizing, they can cause tremendous economic and environmental harm. In 2005, damages resulting from these exotic colonies cost an es...

Last year`s energy crisis highlighted an unforseen by-product of the looming fuel shortages of the 21st century. Petroleum-based products such as plastics that society takes for granted but now requires to function will run out with the oil. Scientists are looking to microorganisms to pick up the slack and help produce environmentally friendly plastics, according to research presented May 19 at...

Many young children who get a severe skin rash develop asthma months or years later. Doctors call the progression from eczema, or atopic dermatitis, to breathing problems the atopic march. Now scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have uncovered what might be the key to atopic march. They`ve shown that a substance secreted by damaged skin circulates through the body a...

New observations of the reproductive biology of crabs living around hydrothermal vents help explain their distribution and provide clues about the selection pressures prevalent in these hostile environments. Hydrothermal vents were first discovered along the Galapagos Rift in 1977 and are home to at least 500 animal species about whose biology much remains to be learnt. One such animal group is th...

Researchers have successfully tested first the first time a computer simulation of major portions of the body`s immune reaction to influenza type A, with implications for treatment design and preparation ahead of future pandemics, according to work accepted for publication, and posted online, by the Journal of Virology. The new "global" flu model is built out of preexisting, smaller-scal...