Life Sciences and Chemistry

Social structures form through group dynamics, not trait selection

From her work studying social insects, Arizona State University biologist Jennifer Fewell believes that these remarkable animals suggest a an alternate cause behind the development of complex societies. In a viewpoint essay in the September 26 issue of the journal Science, Fewell argues that complex social structures like those seen in social insect communities can arise initially from the nature of group interactions

Research published in Genome Biology this week has uncovered 25 genes that are expressed at different levels in worker and soldier termites. As one of the first molecular studies on termites, it paves the way for investigations into how termite larvae can develop into workers, soldiers or reproductive adults depending on the colony’s needs.

The eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, exists in colonies, whose members share work and resources among themselves. Different castes

When biologists want to compare different sequences of DNA or protein, it’s as simple as plugging the information into a browser and pressing enter. Within 15 seconds, an online software tool contrasts one sequence of DNA with up to 18 million others catalogued in public databases. Now, a software tool developed by Whitehead Institute scientists promises to apply this same computational muscle to the far more intricate world of protein interaction networks, giving researchers a new view of the comple

Chance encounter between two labs resurrects dying immune system theory

A lucky encounter between laboratories at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California-Berkeley has resurrected a moribund theory about how the immune system mobilizes one of the body’s most important defensive systems: the immune system cells known as T lymphocytes.

The new findings, published online by the journal Science this week, are a key step toward u

Duke University researchers have used self-assembling DNA molecules as molecular building blocks called “tiles” to construct protein-bearing scaffolds and metal wires at the billionths of a meter, or “nanoscale.”

The achievements in nanoscale synthesis, which the five authors said could lead to programmable molecular scale sensors or electronic circuitry, were described in a paper in the Sept. 26, 2003, issue of the journal Science written by HaoYan, Thom LaBean, Gleb Finkelstein, Sung Ha P

Salk researcher provides new view on how the brain functions

Scientists are developing a new paradigm for how the brain functions. They propose that the brain is not a huge fixed network, as had been previously thought, but a dynamic, changing network that adapts continuously to meet the demands of communication and computational needs.

In the Sept. 26 issue of Science, Salk Institute professor Terrence Sejnowski and University of Cambridge professor Simon Laughlin argue tha