Discovered the role of noncoding 5S rRNA in protecting the p53 tumor suppressor gene  | Researchers have discovered a role for ribosomal 5S RNA in the formation of a complex that regulates the stability of p53. Normally, p53 prevents healthy cells from becoming tumorigenic. | Read More »  First supper is a life changer for lizards  | For young lizards born into this unpredictable world, their very first meal can be a major life changer. So say researchers who report evidence that this early detail influences how the lizards disperse from their birthplaces, how they grow, and whether they survive. A quick or slow meal even influences the lizards' reproductive success two years later in a surprising way. | Read More » MicroRNA drives both cancer onset and metastasis  | A mere 25 years ago, noncoding RNAs were considered nothing more than "background noise" in the overall genomic landscape. Now, two new studies reveal that one of these tiny noncoding molecules -- microRNA-22 -- plays an outsized role in two types of cancer. | Read More » Scientists identify genetic cause of 'spongy' skin condition  | Scientists have identified the genetic cause of a rare skin condition that causes the hands and feet to turn white and spongy when exposed to water. | Read More » Exercise reorganizes the brain to be more resilient to stress  | Physical activity reorganizes the brain so that its response to stress is reduced and anxiety is less likely to interfere with normal brain function. | Read More » New insights into how antibiotics damage human cells suggest novel strategies for making long-term antibiotic use safer  | Scientists have discovered why long-term treatment with many common antibiotics can cause harmful side effects -- and they have uncovered two easy strategies that could help prevent these dangerous responses. | Read More » Powerful animal tracking system helps research take flight  | Call it a bird's eye view of migration. Scientists have created a new animal tracking system using a big data approach. | Read More » Single men, smokers at higher risk for oral human papillomavirus infection  | Smokers and single men are more likely to acquire cancer-causing oral human papillomavirus (HPV), according to new results from the HPV Infection in Men (HIM) Study. Researchers also report that newly acquired oral HPV infections in healthy men are rare and when present, usually resolve within one year. | Read More » Antifreeze, cheap materials may lead to low-cost solar energy  | A process combining some comparatively cheap materials and the same antifreeze that keeps an automobile radiator from freezing in cold weather may be the key to making solar cells that cost less and avoid toxic compounds, while further expanding the use of solar energy. | Read More » Hawkmoths use ultrasound to combat bats  | For years, pilots flying into combat have jammed enemy radar to get the drop on their opponents. It turns out that moths can do it, too. | Read More » Cockatoos 'pick' puzzle box locks: Cockatoos show technical intelligence on a five-lock problem  | A species of Indonesian parrot can solve complex mechanical problems that involve undoing a series of locks one after another, revealing new depths to physical intelligence in birds. | Read More » Bacteria communicate to help each other resist antibiotics  | New research unravels a novel means of communication that allows bacteria such as Burkholderia cenocepacia (B. cenocepacia) to resist antibiotic treatment. B. cenocepacia is an environmental bacterium that causes devastating infections in patients with cystic fibrosis. | Read More » Key factors in understanding differences in rates of birth defects identified  | New research highlights important information for health professionals and parents about the factors which may increase the likelihood of a baby being born with a birth defect. | Read More » Climate change deniers using dirty tricks from 'Tobacco Wars'  | Fossil fuel companies have been funding smear campaigns that raise doubts about climate change, according to experts. | Read More » Antarctic crabs may be native  | A new study has cast doubt on the claim that crabs may have disappeared from Antarctica only to return due to warming seas. | Read More » Clues about autism may come from the gut  | Scientists present the first comprehensive bacterial analysis focusing on commensal or beneficial bacteria in children with autism spectrum disorder. | Read More » Archaeologists unearth carved head of Roman god in ancient rubbish dump  | An 1,800-year-old carved stone head of what is believed to be a Roman god has been unearthed in an ancient rubbish dump in Northern England. | Read More » Spider webs more effective at ensnaring charged insects  | Flapping bees build up a charge of several hundred volts, enough to electrostatically draw pollen from a flower. But researchers have discovered a downside to being charged: it attracts spider silk and increases the chance that the bee or any insect will be snared by a web as it passes by. Perhaps, they say, the more flexible silk of an orb's spiral evolved to allow wind and electrostatic charge to improve capture success. | Read More » Study of mitochondrial DNA ties ancient remains to living descendants  | Researchers report that they have found a direct genetic link between the remains of Native Americans who lived thousands of years ago and their living descendants. The team used mitochondrial DNA, which children inherit only from their mothers, to track three maternal lineages from ancient times to the present. | Read More » White dwarf star throws light on possible variability of a constant of Nature  | Astronomers have studied a distant star where gravity is more than 30,000 times greater than on Earth to test the controversial theory that one of the constants of Nature is not a constant. The researchers used the Hubble Space Telescope to measure the strength of the electromagnetic force -- known as alpha -- on a white dwarf star. The results do not contradict the variable-constant theory. | Read More » | 
