Flies may reveal evolutionary step to live birth

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A species of fruit fly from the Seychelles Islands often lays larvae instead of eggs, UC San Diego biologists have discovered. Clues to how animals switch from laying eggs to live birth may be found in the well-studied species' ecology and genes.

The fly is one of a dozen species of Drosophila to have recently had their genomes sequenced, information that should provide abundant opportunities for identifying genetic changes that cause females of this species, and not others, to retain their fertilized eggs until they are ready to hatch.

SDSC-led team sets records in simulating seismic wave propagation across the Earth

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A team led by researchers at the San Diego Supercomputer Center at UC San Diego has successfully completed record-setting, petascale-level simulations of the earth's inner structure, paving the way for seismologists to model seismic wave propagations at frequencies of just over one second – the same frequencies that occur in nature.

Scientists shed light on evolution of gene regulation

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Sweet molecule could lead us to alien life

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Scientists have detected an organic sugar molecule that is directly linked to the origin of life, in a region of our galaxy where habitable planets could exist. The discovery, part funded by the UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), is published today (25th November) on the Astro-ph website.

The international team of researchers, including a researcher at University College London (UCL), used the IRAM radio telescope in France to detect the molecule in a massive star forming region of space, some 26000 light years from Earth.

'Missing link' galaxies discovered

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Astronomers at The University of Nottingham have identified a type of galaxy that could be the missing link in our understanding of galaxy evolution.

The STAGES study led by the University's Centre for Astronomy and Particle Theory examines galaxy evolution using images from the Hubble Space Telescope. A separate project — Galaxy Zoo — uses volunteers from the general public to classify galaxies. Both teams have identified a population of unusual red spiral galaxies that are setting out on the road to retirement after a lifetime of forming stars.

Major teaching and learning research program draws conclusions

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The Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP), the largest research initiative into education related topics ever undertaken in the United Kingdom, presents its major conclusions on 24th and 25th November after nine years of investigations across all sectors of education, from the importance of preschool education to lifelong learning. The programme was funded and managed by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

Phycology in China

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High speed broadband will create energy bottleneck and slow Internet

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"Increased services like Video on Demand will put pressure on the system and create an energy bottleneck," said Dr Kerry Hinton of the University's Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and the ARC Special Centre for Ultra-Broadband Information Networks (CUBIN).

In a world-first model of internet power consumption, University of Melbourne researchers have been able to identify the major contributors to Internet power consumption as the take-up of broadband services grows in the coming years.

Cancer cell 'bodyguard' turned into killer

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CORVALLIS, Ore. – If you're a cancer cell, you want a protein called Bcl-2 on your side because it decides if you live or die. It's usually a trusted bodyguard, protecting cancer cells from programmed death and allowing them to grow and form tumors. But sometimes it turns into their assassin.

Scientists knew it happened, but they didn't know how to actually cause such a betrayal. Now they do. And it may lead to the development of new cancer-fighting drugs.

Key link in how plants adapt to climate discovered by Stanford researchers

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How many mouths does a plant need in order to survive? The answer changes depending on climate, and some of the decisions are made long before a new leaf sprouts.

Stanford researchers have found that the formation of microscopic pores called stomata (derived from the Greek word stoma, meaning mouth) is controlled by a specific signaling pathway that blocks activity of a single protein required for stomata development. The findings are described in a paper published Nov. 14 in Science.