Deer stew, roast of wild boar, venison ragout – come fall, all varieties of game are in season for gourmets. However, ever since the worldwide surge in genetically modified corn, critical consumers' appetites have abated somewhat. After all, it was not clear precisely how wild animals digest transgenic corn and whether or not residues actually accumulate in meat, for example. Molecular biologists from the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) have shown that there is no need for concern – also with regard to the inadvertent dispersal of genetically modified corn via wild animal feces.
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Biologists for the first time have documented a second breeding season during the annual cycle of five songbird species that spend summers in temperate North America and winters in tropical Central and South America.
It was known that these species, which migrate at night when there are fewer predators and the stars can guide their journey, breed during their stay in temperate regions of the United States and Canada.
Globalisation and industrialisation are causing diseases to spread from humans to animals, a study has shown.
Researchers from The Roslin Institute of the University of Edinburgh have shown that a strain of bacteria has jumped from humans to chickens.
It is believed to be the first clear evidence of bacterial pathogens crossing over from humans to animals and then spreading since animals were first domesticated some 10,000 years ago.
Despite a 30-year lifespan that gives ample time for cells to grow cancerous, a small rodent species called a naked mole rat has never been found with tumors of any kind—and now biologists at the University of Rochester think they know why.
CINCINNATI—A recently discovered form of the protein that triggers blood clotting may play a key role in the molecular mechanisms leading to the growth of certain metastatic cancers, according to new research reported by an international team of scientists.
The protein, called "Tissue Factor," is present in various tissues, but is most prominent in vascular structures such as blood vessels. Previous studies have shown that alternatively spliced Tissue Factor (asTF) contributes to cancer growth, but the molecular events leading to this were previously unknown.
Genetically modified squash plants that are resistant to a debilitating viral disease become more vulnerable to a fatal bacterial infection, according to biologists.
"Cultivated squash is susceptible to a variety of viral diseases and that is a major problem for farmers," said Andrew Stephenson, Penn State professor of biology. "Infected plants grow more slowly and their fruit becomes misshapen."
MAYWOOD, Il. -- She was only 30 years old, but she was experiencing the classic symptoms of a stroke. Her speech suddenly became slurred, and her left hand became clumsy while eating.
What triggered her stroke, at such a young age, may have been the birth control pills she was taking. Oral contraceptives nearly double the risk of stroke, according to a review article in MedLink Neurology by three Loyola University Health System neurologists.
SEATTLE – Biological species are often defined on the basis of reproductive isolation. Ever since Darwin pointed out his difficulty in explaining why crosses between two species often yield sterile or inviable progeny (for instance, mules emerging from a cross between a horse and a donkey), biologists have struggled with this question. New research into this field by basic scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, published online Oct.
HOUSTON - Drawing on years of experience in cancer research and patient care, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center released today the most comprehensive, risk-based screening guidelines publicly available to date for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers.
The new recommendations represent the first wave of an effort by M. D. Anderson to improve the effectiveness of efforts to prevent and detect cancer at its earliest, most treatable stage by reconstructing and expanding its screening, risk reduction and diagnostic guidelines across eight disease sites.
October 23, 2009 -- What do a West African drummer and a sperm whale have in common? According to some reports, they can both spot rhythms in the chatter of an ocean crowded with the calls of marine mammals -- a feat impossible for the untrained human ear.
Working like an architect, Prof. Hagit Eldar-Finkelman of Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine is "building" a new drug, L803-MTS, to treat a number of central nervous system (CNS) diseases like Alzheimer's. In pre-clinical studies, it also shows promise against Parkinson's, Huntington's and diabetes.
Although most wolves in Yellowstone National Park live to be nearly six years old, their ability to kill prey peaks when they are two to three, according to a study led by Dan MacNulty and recently published online by Ecology Letters. The study will appear in the journal's December print issue.
The finding challenges a long-held belief that wolves are successful predators for their entire adult lives. It now appears that like human athletes, they are only at the top of their game for about 25 percent of that time. It also shows that physiology can limit predation.
A cellular protein from a family involved in several human diseases is crucial for the proper production and release of insulin, new research has found, suggesting that the protein might play a role in diabetes.
Mice lacking the ClC-3 channel, a passageway that allows negatively-charged chloride ions to pass through cell membranes, have only one-fifth the circulating insulin of normal mice, according to research published this month in the journal Cell Metabolism.
Patients who visit their family doctors for fatigue have a wide range of diagnoses yet the prevalence of serious illness was low, according to a Dutch study (pre-embargo link only)http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj090647.pdf in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) www.cmaj.ca.
Mayo Clinic study shows people with heart devices can 'digest' advanced diagnostic technology safely
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. A new Mayo Clinic study suggests that video capsule endoscopy (CE), a procedure that uses wireless technology in diagnosing intestinal disease, is safe for patients with heart devices. Wireless electrical gadgets, such as cell phones, have been shown to interfere with implanted heart devices, including pacemakers and defibrillators. This risk has led medical experts to speculate that capsule endoscopy could similarly cause heart devices to fail.