proceedings of the national academy of sciences
Small step for lungfish, a big step for evolution of walking
The eel-like body and scrawny “limbs” of the African lungfish would appear to make it an unlikely innovator for locomotion. But its improbable walking behavior, newly described by University of Chicago scientists, redraws the evolutionary route of life…
New model fosters drug development for pain, epilepsy
Drawing on X-ray crystallography and experimental data, as well as a software suite for predicting and designing protein structures, a UC Davis School of Medicine researcher has developed an algorithm that predicts what has been…
Why humans see clearly
A transparent cornea is essential for vision, which is why the eye has evolved to nourish the cornea without blood vessels. But for millions of people around the world, diseases of the eye or trauma spur the growth of blood vessels and can …
Researchers discover new shapes of microcompartments
In nature and engineering, microcompartments — molecular shells made of proteins that can encapsulate cellular components — provide a tiny home for important reactions. In bacterial organelles, for example, microcompartments known as carboxyso…
Rising CO2 is causing plants to release less water to the atmosphere, researchers say
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — As carbon dioxide levels have risen during the last 150 years, the density of pores that allow plants to breathe has dwindled by 34 percent, restricting the amount of water vapor the plants release to the atmosphere, report sc…
Language may play important role in learning the meanings of numbers
New research conducted with deaf people in Nicaragua shows that language may play an important role in learning the meanings of numbers.
Field studies by University of Chicago psychologist Susan Goldin-Meadow and a team of researchers found de…
Words help people form mathematical concepts
Language may play an important role in learning the meanings of numbers, scholars at the University of Chicago report.
A study based on research on deaf people in Nicaragua who never learned formal sign language showed that people who communicate …
Evolution by mistake
Charles Darwin based his groundbreaking theory of natural selection on the realization that genetic variation among organisms is the key to evolution.
Some individuals are better adapted to a given environment than others, making them more l…