Body

Old trees must be protected to save the homes of more than 1,000 different bird and mammal species who nest, says a new study from the University of British Columbia. Most animals can't carve out their own tree holes and rely on holes already formed. The study found that outside of North America, most animals nest in tree holes formed by damage and decay, a process that can take several centuries.

Building upon previous efforts producing a high-quality de novo genome assemblies of deadly 2011 E.

A breakthrough in genetic research has uncovered the defect behind a rare hereditary children's disease that inhibits the body's ability to break down vitamin D. This discovery has led researchers to develop the first genetic and biochemical tests that positively identify the disease.

Idiopathic Infantile Hypercalcemia (IIH) is among the top ten most common inherited diseases. The researchers estimate that one in every 47,000 people – around 600 Canadians and 6,000 Americans – may suffer from IIH, but there was no way until now of confirming the diagnosis.

Bethesda, Md. (June 16, 2011) – Coaches, physiologists and athletes alike will attest to the importance of warming up before athletic competition. Warming up increases muscle temperature, accelerates oxygen uptake kinetics and increases anaerobic metabolism, all of which enhance performance. However, the question of how long and strenuous a warm-up should be is more contentious, with some in the sports community advocating longer warm-ups and others espousing shorter ones.

Youths in groups or gangs choose to own dogs primarily for socializing and companionship. Dogs are also used for protection and enhancing status, but to a lesser extent, contrary to popular perception. The research by Jennifer Maher and Harriet Pierpoint from the Centre for Criminology at the University of Glamorgan in the UK, is published online in Springer's journal Crime, Law and Social Change.

The first roadmap to mathematical modeling of a powerful basic "decision circuit" in breast cancer has been developed and published in Nature Reviews Cancer.

The preliminary mathematical model is the first result of a $7.5 million federal grant, awarded to scientists at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) and collaborators at Virginia Tech and Fox Chase Cancer Center, to develop a systems approach to understanding and treating one of the most common forms of breast cancer.

People often talk about "boosting" their immunity to prevent and fight colds. Nutritional supplements, cold remedies and fortified foods claim to stave off colds by augmenting the immune system.

A new University of Michigan study shows this strategy might actually be flawed. The results may hold important implications for individuals with asthma, who often experience life-threatening flare-ups due to infections with cold viruses.

The success of world co-operation based on science and practiced since the Cold War by nations operating in Antarctica offers a model to humanity as it confronts challenges to common interests like climate change, biodiversity loss and overfishing, says the editor of a new book on science diplomacy.

• A new study examined the reliability of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) diagnosis of alcohol dependence (AD) in a population-based sample.
• Characteristics relevant to the disorder – number of AD symptoms, treatment seeking, duration of most severe episode, and spending a great deal of time to obtain, use, or recover from alcohol use – predicted a reliable diagnosis of lifetime history of AD.

PITTSBURGH—Small genetic mutations that add up over time could create an evolutionary express lane that leads to the rapid development of new traits, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Wisconsin at Madison have found.

A new Baylor University study has found that sunlight decreases the toxicity of golden algae, which kills millions of fish in the southern United States every year.

HOUSTON - (June 15, 2011) – When Noah and Alexis Beery were diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age 2, their parents thought they at last had an answer to the problems that had plagued their twin infants from birth.

SAN FRANCISCO, June 15, 2011 -- Sing it with us: What lives in the rainforest, under a tree?

Spongiforma squarepantsii, a new species of mushroom almost as strange as its cartoon namesake.

Its discovery in the forests of Borneo, says San Francisco State University researcher Dennis Desjardin, suggests that even some of the most charismatic characters in the fungal kingdom are yet to be identified.

Palo Alto, CA— Although scientists have been able to sequence the genomes of many organisms, they still lack a context for associating the proteins encoded in genes with specific biological processes. To better understand the genetics underlying plant physiology and ecology—especially in regard to photosynthesis—a team of researchers including Carnegie's Arthur Grossman identified a list of proteins encoded in the genomes of plants and green algae, but not in the genomes of organisms that don't generate energy through photosynthesis.

An international consortium of researchers report today in Nature that they have knocked out almost 40 per cent of the genes in the mouse genome. The completed resource will power studies of gene activity in models of human disease.