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Biologists testing a mathematical model of the mechanism birds use to control the growth of complex feathers found that plumed feather structures involve the coordination of at least two genes that activate and that inhibit barb growth.

“Understanding these mechanisms of feather growth gives a whole new perspective on the unique beauty of feathers,” said Richard Prum, senior author on the study. Prum is the William Robertson Coe Professor of Ornithology, and Curator of Ornitho

Lymph circulates in our bodies through a complex network of lymphatic vessels, of which little is known. This network is, however, of major importance for the support of the immune system and the fluid in our body. Researchers from the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) connected with the Catholic University of Leuven, are the first to indicate that this network can be studied with the help of tadpoles. This accelerates research of the lymphatic vessel network. With tadpoles

The same family of chemical signals that attracts developing sensory nerves up the spinal cord toward the brain serves to repel motor nerves, sending them in the opposite direction, down the cord and away from the brain, report researchers at the University of Chicago in the September 2005 issue of Nature Neuroscience (available online August 14). The finding may help physicians restore function to people with paralyzing spinal cord injuries.

Growing nerve cells send out axons, long

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have harnessed a mobile gene from the cabbage looper moth and modified it for routine use to determine the function of genes in mice and other vertebrates. If the new tool works as they expect, it will speed understanding of genes involved in human biology and disease and accelerate the search for effective new therapies.

The researchers report their study in the August 12, 2005, issue of the journal Cell.

Certain genes or

Because atherosclerotic plaque typically builds up without symptoms and leads to more than 1 million deaths in America each year, the search is on to develop early detection devices that will enable physicians to offer treatment before the disease progresses to advanced stages.

Now, in a study involving laboratory rabbits, a device that stimulates, collects and measures light emissions from body tissues has been able to detect the presence of inflammatory cells that are associa

Astronomers from the universities of Hertfordshire and Kent have received a grant which will allow them to map large areas of the sky 1000 times faster than with current technology.

The universities, in conjunction with the University of British Columbia and the Joint Astronomy Centre, have been awarded 1,500 hours of observation and survey time on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) at the Mauna Kea Observatories in Hawaii. The award, which is part of the JCMT Major Legac