Neuroscientists uncover secret to intelligence in parrots
Reading Time: 2 minutesStudy shows evidence of convergence in bird and primate evolution. UNIVERSITY of Alberta neuroscientists have identified the neural circuit that may underlay intelligence in birds, according to a new study. The discovery is an example of convergent evolution between the brains of birds and primates, with the potential to provide insight into the neural basis […]
Self-sealing seed pods
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAn international team of researchers including members of the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces has discovered a self-sealing mechanism in the seed pods of Banksia plants: special waxes in the junction zone between the two pod valves melt at elevated environmental temperatures and thereby seal small fissures. The scientists showed how the plant […]
Speeding up photorespiration boosts crop production
Reading Time: < 1 minutePLANTS such as soybeans and wheat waste between 20 and 50 per cent of their energy recycling toxic chemicals created when the enzyme Rubisco—the most prevalent enzyme in the world—grabs oxygen molecules instead of carbon dioxide molecules. Increasing production of a common, naturally occurring protein in plant leaves could boost the yields of major food […]
Multi-nutrient rice against malnutrition
Reading Time: < 1 minuteRESEARCHERS from ETH Zurich led by Navreet Bhullar from the Institute of Molecular Plant Biology have genetically modified (GM) one of the most commonly grown varieties of rice. The ETH researchers developed rice lines with iron increases equaling more than 90 per cent of the recommended iron content and up to 170 per cent of […]
Smart Bandages
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA team of engineers led by Tufts University has developed a prototype bandage designed to actively monitor the condition of chronic wounds and deliver appropriate drug treatments to improve the chances of healing. While the lab-tested bandages remain to be assessed in a clinical context, the research, published today in the journal Small, is aimed at […]
Meet NOTCH2NL, the humanspecific genes that may have given us our big brains
Reading Time: 5 minutesTHE evolution of larger brains in the last 3 million years played an important role in our ability as a species to think, problem-solve, and develop culture. But the genetic changes behind the expansion that made us human have been elusive. In a pair of papers publishing May 31 in Cell, two teams of researchers […]
HIV vaccine shows promising results
Reading Time: 3 minutesNEW research published in The Lancet shows that an experimental HIV-1 vaccine regimen is well-tolerated and generated comparable and robust immune responses against HIV in healthy adults and rhesus monkeys. Moreover, the vaccine candidate protected against infection with an HIV-like virus in monkeys. Previous HIV-1 vaccine candidates have typically been limited to specific regions of the world. The […]
Golden Rice meets food safety standard
Reading Time: 2 minutesLOS BANOS, PHILIPPINES: GR2E Golden Rice, a provitamin A biofortified rice variety, completed its third positive food safety evaluation, this time from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA). In an official response received by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) on May 24, the US FDA concurred with IRRI’s assessment regarding the […]
Is a common antimicrobial harmful to gut health?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteSCIENTISTS have discovered that triclosan, an antimicrobial additive found in thousands of consumer products, causes colon inflammation and exacerbates colon cancer in mice. Their sobering results suggest that health authorities may want to investigate if they should reassess regulatory policies regarding the usage of this common ingredient. Triclosan is found in more than 2,000 consumer […]
Green Cure
Reading Time: < 1 minuteGREEN TEA could hold the key to preventing deaths from heart attacks and strokes caused by atherosclerosis, according to a research funded by the British Heart Foundation and published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Scientists from Lancaster University and the University of Leeds have discovered that a compound found in green tea, currently being […]