Brain circuit that regulates thirst identified

The thirst-regulating circuit is located in a region of the brain called the subfornical organ (SFO). Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists have identified a circuit in the brains of mice that regulates thirst. When a subset of cells in the circuit is switched on, mice immediately begin drinking water, even if they are fully hydrated....

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Got bees? Got vitamin A? Got malaria? Loss of pollinators increases risk of malnutrition, disease

Bees allow farms to thrive. But new research from UVM and Harvard scientists shows how bees and other pollinators may be crucial to human health too. The study in PLOS ONE presents the first-ever empirical test of how declining pollinators may increase risk of nutrient deficiencies -- with worrisome connections to diseases like measles...

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How malaria-spreading mosquitoes can tell you're home

Ring Cardé, a distinguished professor of entomology at UC Riverside, is seen here working on an experiment involving a wind tunnel. Females of the malaria-spreading mosquito tend to obtain their blood meals within human dwellings. Indeed, this mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, spends much of its adult life indoors where it is constantly...

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On the ups and downs of the seemingly idle brain

This image shows inhibitory cells abound in the barrel cortex of the mouse, where three main types were labeled to fluoresce in different colors: PV (red), SOM (blue), and 5HT3aR, which includes VIP and NPY, (green). Even in its quietest moments, the brain is never "off." Instead, while under anesthesia, during slow-wave sleep, or...

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Which 'letters' in the human genome are functionally important?

"In model organisms, like yeast or flies, scientists often generate mutations to determine which letters in a DNA sequence are needed for a particular gene to function," explains CSHL Professor Adam Siepel. "We can't do that with humans. But when you think about it, nature has been doing a similar experiment on a very large scale as...

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Live broadcast from inside the nerve cell

Protein degradation by the proteasome in neurons. The proteasomes (grey) of the nerve cell (neuron) are equipped with the regulatory particles at their ends. These structures change their shape depending on whether they have bound (red) proteins which have to be degraded (green) or not (blue). Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's,...

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First major analysis of Human Protein Atlas is published

An image from the Human Protein Atlas. A research article published in Science presents the first major analysis based on the Human Protein Atlas, including a detailed picture of the proteins that are linked to cancer, the number of proteins present in the bloodstream, and the targets for all approved drugs on the market. The Human...

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Bad reputation of crows demystified

The 326 interactions between corvids and their prey show that they have a much smaller effect on other bird species than was previously thought. In literature, crows and ravens are a bad omen and are associated with witches. Most people believe they steal, eat other birds' eggs and reduce the populations of other birds. But a new study,...

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Sisters act together: Cichlid sisters swim together in order to reach the goal

Cichlid fish in the Lake Tanganyika. The manner and routes of dispersal vary with the species and the ecological conditions. Many fish form shoals to avoid predation. Shoaling with familiar conspecifics affords the fish an even greater advantage by increasing the benefit for relatives. This promotes the continuation and future spread...

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Brazil's soy moratorium still needed to preserve Amazon

Soybeans grow near a forested area in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. Under the Soy Moratorium, major trading companies do not purchase soybeans produced in the Brazilian Amazon on recently deforested areas. Today, fewer chicken nuggets can trace their roots to cleared Amazon rain forest. In 2006, following a report from Greenpeace...

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Reducing Myc gene activity extends healthy lifespan in mice

Mice with one rather than the normal two copies of the gene Myc (also found in humans) lived 15 percent longer and had considerably healthier lives than normal mice, according to a new Brown University-led study in Cell. A team of scientists based at Brown University has found that reducing expression of a fundamentally important...

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Providing better data on the Ebola virus

Researchers are exploring new and innovative methods to solve the complex mystery that is the Ebola virus. "Quantifying the Epidemic Spread of Ebola Virus (EBOV) in Sierra Leone Using Phylodynamics," is featured in an upcoming issue of the journal Virulence. Authored by Samuel Alizon, Sébastien Lion, Carmen Lía Murall and Jessica Abbate, this article studies the use of phylodynamics to discover how the Ebola virus has...

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Using less fish to test chemicals safety

The JRC has released a new strategy on how to replace, reduce and refine the use of fish in testing of chemicals' effect on flora and fauna in water (aquatic toxicity) and chemicals' uptake and concentration in living organisms (bioaccumulation). Out of the 11.5 million animals used for experimental purposes in the EU (2011 data), cold blooded animals, namely reptiles, amphibians and fish represent 12.4%. In the case of...

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Antibiotics, bacteria, resistance genes found in dust from feedlots

After testing dust in the air near cattle feedlots in the Southern High Plains, researchers at The Institute of Environmental and Human Health at Texas Tech University found evidence of antibiotics, feedlot-derived bacteria and DNA sequences that encode for antibiotic resistance. The study was published online in the National Institutes of Environmental Science's peer-reviewed journal, Environmental Health Perspectives. ...

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Study projects unprecedented loss of corals in Great Barrier Reef due to warming

The coverage of living corals on Australia's Great Barrier Reef could decline to less than 10 percent if ocean warming continues, according to a new study. The coverage of living corals on Australia's Great Barrier Reef could decline to less than 10 percent if ocean warming continues, according to a new study that explores the short-...

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How the yellowhammer bird became a Kiwi: From hero to villain in 15 years

Yellowhammer is a small passerine native to Europe and naturalised in New Zealand Yellowhammers are small, colourful and apparently innocuous birds, but they were once considered to be enemies by farmers in New Zealand. Yellowhammers were introduced there to help fight insect crop pests, but instead became pests themselves. A new study...

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Unlocking the mysteries of the real Paddington bear

The Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus). WCS and partners in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru have published four significant contributions towards the conservation of the real Paddington Bear -- the Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus). Shrouded in mystery, the Andean bear calls home the fairytale-like cloud forests of the Tropical Andes that...

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Picture this: Biosecurity seen from the inside

The Jas9-VENUS biosensor responds to changes in jasmonic acid levels. Scientists get an insider's view of plants under attack. They've developed a new biosensor that allows them to see, in real time, what happens when a plant's defence system swings into action. When plants come under attack internal alarm bells ring and their defence...

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Developing vaccines for insect-borne viruses

Vaccines developed using proteins rather than live viruses can help protect animals and subsequently humans from insect-borne viruses, according to Alan Young, chief scientific officer for Medgene Labs, an animal health company that develops therapeutics and diagnostics, including vaccines. "Platform technologies -- that is where our niche is," said Young, who is also a veterinary science professor at South Dakota State...

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Wild pollinators at risk from diseased commercial species of bee

A new study from the University of Exeter has found that viruses carried by commercial bees can jump to wild pollinator populations with potentially devastating effects. The researchers are calling for new measures to be introduced that will prevent the introduction of diseased pollinators into natural environments. Commercial species of honey bee and bumble bee are typically used to pollinate crops such as tomatoes,...

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