Drunken flies could pave way for alcoholism cure
on Nov 6, 2009Drunk­en fruit flies have helped re­search­ers iden­ti­fy whole net­works of genes—al­so found in hu­man­s—that play a key role in al­co­hol drink­ing be­hav­ior, ac­cord­ing to a stu­dy.Sci­en­tists said the in­ves­ti­ga­t...

Before Flowers, Odd Bugs Pollinated Plants
on Nov 6, 2009Before there were flowers, pollination of plants by insects was likely rare, and scientists had no idea of the insect culprits. But a new discovery suggests at least one flittering pollinator.Strange-looking insects called scorpionflies may have slur...

Cosmic rays traced to centers of star birth
on Nov 6, 2009WASHINGTON, D.C. — Astronomers have for the first time traced gamma rays, the most energetic form of light, to galaxies undergoing a frenzy of star birth. The finding, which has revealed a new class of galactic gamma-ray sources, is not unexpected.

Newborn babies may cry in their mother tongues
on Nov 6, 2009Only days after birth, babies have a bawl with language. Newborn babies cry in melodic patterns that they have heard in adults’ conversations — even while in the womb, say medical anthropologist Kathleen Wermke of the University of Würzburg in G...

Spinal Cord Regeneration Enabled By Stabilizing, Improving Delivery Of Scar-degrading Enzyme
on Nov 6, 2009The enzyme, chrondroitinase ABC (chABC), must be supplied to the damaged area for at least two weeks following injury to fully degrade scar tissue. But the enzyme functions poorly at body temperature and must therefore be repeatedly injected or infus...

Carbon Atmosphere Discovered On Neutron Star
on Nov 6, 2009"The compact star at the center of this famous supernova remnant has been an enigma since its discovery," said Wynn Ho of the University of Southampton and lead author of a paper that appears in the November 5 issue of Nature. "Now we...

New insights into the evolution of human complexity
on Nov 6, 2009A fascinating new study of thousands of genes and the proteins they encode shows that human beings are biologically complex, at least in part, because of the way humans evolved to cope with redundancies arising from duplicate genes."We have foun...

Domestic Horse Genome Sequenced
on Nov 6, 2009"Horses and humans suffer from similar illnesses, so identifying the genetic culprits in horses promises to deepen our knowledge of disease in both organisms," said senior author Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, scientific director of vertebrate genom...

Vast Right Arm Conspiracy? Study Suggests Handedness May Affect Body Perception
on Nov 6, 2009Psychologists Sally A. Linkenauger, Jonathan Z. Bakdash, and Dennis R. Proffitt of the University of Virginia, along with Jessica K. Witt from Purdue University, and Jeanine K. Stefanucci from The College of William and Mary wanted to see if this dif...

Bacteria flourish in favorite ecosystems on the human body, new map shows
on Nov 6, 2009Like fussy first-time homebuyers, microbes in and on the human body choose their digs according to three strict rules: location, location, location. If the palm of the hand is a bustling metropolitan city crammed with hundreds of species, the ear can...