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NEWS ABOUT: biology

Giant Ant Colony Spreads Across World

Insects from different continents treat each other as family

(Newser) - In what may be a first for the animal kingdom, one giant family of ants has established itself in different parts of the world, the BBC reports. Researchers studying the species known as Argentine ants in Europe, the US, and Japan found that they had a strikingly similar chemical profile,... More »

New England Starfish Boom Baffles Experts

Shellfish predators' population worries fishermen

(Newser) - New England beaches are swarming with starfish this spring, and nobody’s sure why, the Boston Globe reports. The spike may be connected to shellfish population; it could be due to a drop in spider crabs, which prey on starfish; it could be tied to water temperature or wind patterns.... More »

'Biohackers' Create New, DIY Organisms

Feds try to asses threat from part-time Frankensteins

(Newser) - Katherine Aull is creating new forms of life in her closet. Armed only with jury-rigged equipment and some DNA she bought online, the 23-year-old is creating custom E. coli bacteria she thinks could help cancer research. Aull is part of a growing movement of “biohackers,” amateur biologists crafting... More »

'Benjamin Button' Jellyfish Are Immortal

Can revert to younger form and reproduce

(Newser) - For some aging jellyfish, their best years may still be ahead: Faced with a threat, one species can essentially turn itself younger again, National Geographic reports. Turritopsis dohrnii reverts its cells to a “younger state,” says a researcher, and becomes a blob; from there, it develops into a... More »

High-Calorie Diet Makes Moms Have Boys: Study

(Newser) - In news that may affect diets in China, a recent study says women who down more calories—cereal especially—are more likely to give birth to boys, NPR reports. One statistician questions the survey of 740 moms, saying "the female has nothing to do with the gender of the... More »

Princeton Team Adds Twist to Darwin's Theory

It's not random, they say: Organisms can control own evolution

(Newser) - Princeton scientists say they have found evidence that organisms can essentially control their own evolution, a finding that could provide a fundamental shift in our understanding of Darwin's theory, reports the university's news service. The research suggests that evolution isn't entirely random, as Darwin believed. Rather, proteins within organisms constantly... More »

Author Offers Creepy Look at Critters With Taste for Blood

Bats, bedbugs, leeches, and mosquitoes have a common thirst

(Newser) - With Halloween nearly upon us, the author of new book on bloodsucking creatures—vampire bats, bedbugs, leeches, and the like—leads the New York Times on a sanguivore safari. The world's bloodthirsty creatures vary enormously, as Bill Schutt details in Dark Banquet, and some are mere dabblers, but many specialists... More »

Docs Tout Safer, Non-Embryonic Stem Cells

Virus, used in mice, repurposes adult cells with no risk of cancer

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered a safer way to turn adult cells into stem cells, the Boston Globe reports. The cells, similar to those harvested from embryos, are called induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells; Japanese researchers introduced the method 2 years ago. But the Japanese used retroviruses, which can cause cancer;... More »

Genome Project Is a Bust: Expert

$3B effort to pinpoint disease-causing genes too broad, Duke doc says

(Newser) - The idea behind mapping the human genome (and spending $3 billion to do so) was to uncover common gene variants that cause disease. But a Duke University geneticist says that natural selection has worked better than we thought, that there are no common variants but rather a multitude of rare... More »

'Biohackers' Push DIY Science in the Basement

Movement aims to capitalize on American passion for invention

(Newser) - Just as individual computer experts can create new programs and technological movements from home, a new generation of scientists wants to make do-it-yourself biology a household activity. Sessions such as those teaching laypeople how to extract DNA show "how much science can be about duct tape and having a... More »

Philosophical Vintner Rethinks Wine

The bizarre techniques behind the Scholium Project

(Newser) - Abe Schoener is reinvigorating California wines with a decidely unorthodox, almost experimental, approach, writes Jon Bonne in the San Francisco Chronicle. Schoener, who lacks formal training, eschews the traditional do's and don’ts of the craft with his Scholium Project winery. His wines "are bizarre, ingenious and polarizing—quite... More »

Scientists Honing Gaydar

Studies seek innate differences between gays and straights

(Newser) - Scientists are examining how homosexuality may affect everything from penis sizes to how one navigates new cities, reports the Los Angeles Times. Innate differences between gays and straights rooted in biology could lead researchers to discover the biological origins of sexual orientation. More »

Caribbean Monk Seal Extinct

Seal only one of its kind to vanish because of human causes

(Newser) - Caribbean monk seals, the sea dwellers first discovered during Columbus’s second voyage in 1494, are officially extinct—the only seal to vanish because of human causes, MSNBC reports. “Humans left the Caribbean monk seal population unsustainable after overhunting them,” a biologist explained. The seal, a native of... More »

Homosexuality: It's Perfectly Natural

Gay relationships abound in animal kingdom

(Newser) - It may throw a wrench in Noah's ark-stocking plans, but same-sex relationships appear in many animal species, reports LiveScience.com. The long list of animals that practice gay sex includes bears, penguins, gorillas, and dolphins, among others. But scientists question the act's evolutionary purpose, because it doesn't aid in reproduction.... More »

Fertile Women Sound Sexier, Study Says

Voices found to be most alluring during ovulation

(Newser) - Barflies take note: A woman's voice is sexiest when she's most fertile, a new study says. Scientists recorded women counting from 1 to 10 and found that their voices were rated most attractive when they were closest to ovulation, the BBC reports. What gives? Researchers aren't sure, but they speculate... More »

Cougar's Long Trek to Chicago May Tell Tale

Cat likely from SD may yield clues about human overpopulation

(Newser) - A cougar shot April 14 in Chicago was spotted earlier in Wisconsin, DNA tests show, suggesting an epic trek. Now, scientists are eager to study the animal, hoping to learn more about how and why it migrated; they aim to pin down its ancestry in an effort to better understand... More »

Darwin's Papers Now Online

Once-private drafts, notes and even recipes of evolutionary scientist are free to public

(Newser) - A vast collection of the papers of Charles Darwin is now online, providing public access to volumes once restricted to Cambridge scholars, the BBC reports. 20,000 items are available, including the first draft of his seminal book on evolution, travel notes and personal pieces such as family recipes, Reuters... More »

Top 10 Planet Earth Puzzlers

Even basic questions still have scientists scratching their heads

(Newser) - Forget deep-space exploration; even basic questions about Earth still have scientists scratching their heads, LiveScience reports. A panel of geologists and planetary scientists lists its top lingering mysteries.
  1. How did Earth form into such a distinct body?
  2. What happened during Earth's first 500 million years?
  3. How did life start on
... More »

Lab Creates Speedy, Lean Mighty Mouse

Modified critters have voracious appetites but manage to stay thin

(Newser) - Scientists have made speedy super mice by flipping a genetic switch, reports the Guardian. The mice can run 30 times as far as regular mice, and they live longer and breed later. They also eat 60% more food than average mice but manage to stay leaner and possibly more resistant... More »

Women Have Been Falling for Brad Pitt Types for 2.6M Years

Rules of attraction haven't changed much

(Newser) - The facial proportions of the average hot guy haven't changed much throughout human  evolutionary history, finds a new study that compares contemporary human skulls with skulls from 2.6 million years ago. Women have been selecting for males with short, broad faces—think Brad Pitt and Will Smith—since the... More »

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