Researchers have been able to give an answer to why cuckolded males in many species still provide paternal care. When the conditions are right, this strategy is actually the most successful. In many species males [...]
Tag Archives | biology
Computer Simulations Yield Clues to How Cells Interact With Surroundings
Your cells are social butterflies. They constantly interact with their surroundings, taking in cues on when to divide and where to anchor themselves, among other critical tasks. This networking is driven in part by proteins [...]
Men May Have Natural Aversion to Adultery with Friends’ Wives
After outgrowing teenage infatuations with the girl next door, adult males seem to be biologically designed to avoid amorous attractions to the wife next door, according to a University of Missouri study that found adult [...]
Frog songs call mates with compatible DNA
When it comes to love songs, female tree frogs are pretty picky. According to a new study from the University of Missouri, certain female tree frogs may be remarkably attuned to the songs of mates [...]
An HIF-independent pathway for tumourigenesis in HLRCC
HLRCC, caused by mutations in FH, predisposes patients to develop papillary renal cell carcinoma. FH-deficient cells have an accumulation of fumarate, which leads to the stabilisation of HIF-α subunits and therefore an increase in HIF-α [...]
Orangutan real-estate provides new hope
Spending time with a particular animal undoubtedly creates a bond that stays with you for a long time, if not for life. In my life, this has been the case for my horses, dogs, the [...]
Inbreeding bed bugs key to massive infestations
New research on the bed bug’s ability to withstand the genetic bottleneck of inbreeding, announced today at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) annual meeting, provides new clues …
Whiff of testosterone helps prenatal female Alpine marmots
Alpine marmots (Marmota marmota) live in extended family groups of up to 20 individuals. The groups consist of a dominant territorial pair and a number of subordinate individuals, typically descendants of the dominant pair. Over a 14-year period, Kla…
Global warming worms dooming fish?
Parasitic worms that infect fish, and have a devastating effect on fish reproduction, grow four times faster at higher temperatures — providing some of the first evidence that global warming affects the interactions between parasites and their hosts…
Inflammatory cues modulate goblet cell products important for intestinal barrier function
In a paper published in the December 2011 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, a team of scientists at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign led by Rex Gaskins, PhD have demonstrated that both microbial and host inflammatory factors modul…
Powerful mathematical model greatly improves predictions for species facing climate change
UCLA life scientists and colleagues have produced the most comprehensive mathematical model ever devised to track the health of populations exposed to environmental change.
The research, federally funded by the National Science Foundation, is publis…
Aggression prevents the better part of valor … in fig wasps
Published online in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, the study confirms that placid male pollinator fig wasps work together to chew an escape tunnel for their females, before crawling back into the fig to die — the non-pollinating variety …
They call it guppy love
Guppies in the wild have evolved over at least half-a-million years — long enough for the males’ coloration to have changed dramatically. Yet a characteristic orange patch on male guppies has remained remarkably stable, though [...]
The Agony and the Ecstasy: Why science writing is like learning tango and Chinese brush painting
This is an odd title and I am stuck with it. Worse, I am compelled to explain why this is so. Today, I am at a loss what to choose for my next blog entry [...]