Nature : Science World Report

Mar 05, 2012 04:09 PM EST

Stinging Came before Seeing

New research from the University of California shows how the ability to detect light could have evolved before anything like an eye. As published today (March 5) in the journal BMC Biology, the research is based on the stinging mechanism in the tiny, brainless and eyeless freshwater polyp Hydra m...

Mar 05, 2012 02:33 PM EST

Iowa State Engineer Discovers Spider Silk Conducts Heat as well as Metals

Xinwei Wang had a hunch that spider webs were worth a much closer look. So he ordered eight spiders â€“ Nephila clavipes, golden silk orbweavers â€“ and put them to work eating crickets and spinning webs in the cages he set up in an Iowa State University greenhouse.

Mar 05, 2012 10:36 AM EST

Escaping Parasites and Pathogens

In nature, how do host species survive parasite attacks? This has not been well understood, until now. A new mathematical model shows that when a host and its parasite each have multiple traits governing their interaction, the host has a unique evolutionary advantage that helps it survive.

Mar 05, 2012 09:58 AM EST

Organic Strawberries Better Pollinated

Organic cultivation methods not only benefit biodiversity; they also appear to have a positive effect on the ecosystem service pollination. In a study of strawberry plants in SkÃ¥ne, the proportion of fully pollinated flowers was significantly higher on organic farms. This is shown in new research...

Mar 05, 2012 09:27 AM EST

In Forests, Past Disturbances Obscure Warming Impacts

Past disturbances, such as logging, can obscure the effects of climate change on forest ecosystems. So reports a study just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The paper, exploring nitrogen dynamics, found that untangling climate impacts from other factors can be diffic...

Mar 03, 2012 09:06 AM EST

A new Optimum Design Method of Bicycle Parameters For a Specified Person

The optimum design of bicycle parameters has been explored by many scholars and institutes since bicycles were first invented. Professor Xin-Jun Liu and his group at Tsinghua University established a new way to design bicycle parameters according to the dimensions of the rider's body.

Mar 03, 2012 06:54 AM EST

Unexpected Crustacean Diversity Discovered in Northern Freshwater Ecosystems

Freshwater ecosystems in northern regions are home to significantly more species of water fleas than traditionally thought, adding to evidence that regions with vanishing waters contain unique animal life. The new information on water fleas -- which are actually tiny crustaceans -- comes from a m...

Mar 03, 2012 06:39 AM EST

New Study Will Help Protect Vulnerable Birds from Impacts of Climate Change

Scientists from PRBO Conservation Science and the Department of Fish and Game have completed an innovative study on the effects of climate change on bird species of greatest concern. This first-of-its-kind study prioritizes which species are most at risk and will help guide conservation measures in ...

Mar 03, 2012 06:26 AM EST

The Future of Plant Science â€“ a Technology Perspective

Plant science is key to addressing the major challenges facing humanity in the 21st Century, according to Carnegie's David Ehrhardt and Wolf Frommer. In a Perspective published in The Plant Cell, the two researchers argue that the development of new technology is key to transforming plant biology in...

Mar 02, 2012 03:05 PM EST

Law that Regulates Shark Fishery is Too Liberal: UBC Study

Shark fins are worth more than other parts of the shark and are often removed from the body, which gets thrown back into the sea. To curtail this wasteful practice, many countries allow the fins to be landed detached from shark bodies, as long as their weight does not exceed five per cent of the tot...

Mar 02, 2012 12:50 PM EST

Overfishing Leaves Swaths of Mediterranean Barren

Centuries of overexploitation of fish and other marine resources â€” as well as invasion of fish from the Red Sea â€” have turned some formerly healthy ecosystems of the Mediterranean Sea into barren places, an unprecedented study of the Mediterranean concludes.

Mar 02, 2012 12:19 PM EST

Artificial 'Womb' Unlocks Secrets of Early Embryo Development

Pioneering work by a leading University of Nottingham scientist has helped reveal for the first time a vital process in the development of the early mammalian embryo. A team led by Professor of Tissue Engineering, Kevin Shakesheff, has created a new device in the form of a soft polymer bowl which...