Life Sciences and Chemistry

Detecting the presence of hazardous lead paint could become as simple as pressing a piece of paper against a wall and noting a color change.

Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a highly sensitive and selective biosensor that functions in much the same fashion as a strip of litmus paper. The researchers report their discovery in a paper that has been accepted for publication in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, and posted on its Web

Findings may aid the development of drugs to treat thyroid disorders

Structural analysis has revealed for the first time how a key messenger in the body’s chemical communication system hooks up with one of the proteins that delivers it to sites of action in the body.

Using X-ray crystallography, scientists from Imperial College London and the University of Hawaii have identified the location of four binding sites on human serum albumin (HSA), the principal protein in bl

Brief activation of signaling protein stimulates hair follicle growth phase

University of Michigan graduate student David Van Mater knew something strange was going on when he noticed stubble on the shaved skin of experimental mice in his laboratory. Instead of the tumors he had originally expected to see, the mice were growing hair.

Van Mater had stumbled on the discovery that beta-catenin (“bay-tuh-kuh-TEEN-in”), a signaling protein involved in embryonic development and se

We humans are poorly adapted for underwater vision. However, the Moken peoples of south-east Asia manage to collect shells, clams and sea cucumbers using no visual aids when diving to a depth of 3 or 4 metres. Scientists from Lund University in Sweden have now measured the visual acuity of these children and have found that their ability to see well underwater is not a myth: their acuity in this environment is indeed superior to that of European children. The scientists have also found an explanation

Scientists believe they have opened the door to an overlooked area of bird behaviour – the use of social scents. The basic assumption is that vision and hearing are the main senses that birds use to signal each other, e.g. the colour of plumage; the sound of birdsong. This is questioned by new experimental evidence observed in the Crested Auklet, an arctic seabird.

Research by scientists at Swarthmore College and elsewhere, published in Proceedings B, explored the Crested Auklets’ frequent “

The old adage “treat them mean keep them keen” has been turned on its head by new research published in the Royal Society’s journal Proceedings: Biological Sciences today; at least as far as hyenas are concerned.

Scientists studying Serengeti spotted hyena clans in Tanzania found that male hyenas displaying “friendly” behaviour had much more luck with the ladies than their more aggressive counterparts.

Using genetic techniques, the researchers discovered that males rarely sired o