ScienceAlert - Life Science

Gene tweak helps salt survival

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Researchers have genetically modified plants to be more salt tolerant, by making the plants hold salt in less sensitive areas.

Reef bounces back from injury

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0100

A study of a coral reef in the Pacific suggests that some reefs may be able to recover from disasters – as long as they’re otherwise left alone.

Opinion: Wake-up call for science

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:18:48 +0100

In theory, science is a failure. In practice, it works; in product, it soars. Yet because scientific product depends on practice, which in turn depends on theory, it is vital that scientists understand how and why science fails, Andrew Baker writes.

Diggers discover new dinos

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Palaeontologists have found the fossilised remains of three new dinosaurs species in Australia – two herbivores and a carnivore.

Feathers help reconstruct moa

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Researchers have worked out what an extinct species of giant bird – the moa – must have looked like, using DNA from buried feathers.

Closed pore could trap malaria

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

A recent study has found a vulnerability in the life cycle of malaria – closing certain pores could trap it inside red blood cells.

Platypus gives cancer insight

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

The platypus genome is helping researchers understand why ovarian cancer develops, and could help them find new treatments.

Giant kangaroos hunted out

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

A recent study suggests that the giant kangaroo may have been hunted to extinction, rather than killed by a change in climate.

Storms cripple reef renewal

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

A study has found that storms harm the ability of coral to recruit and grow – and it looks like the climate is producing storms more often.

Life begun earlier than thought

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Complex life forms may have evolved on Earth 400 million years earlier than previously thought, a study of fossils suggests.

Immune system key discovered

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Researchers have found a protein that is key to fighting viruses and could improve drugs used to strengthen the immune system.

New diabetes epidemic theory

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Researchers have proposed that the global diabetes epidemic originated from the struggle to remain fertile over millennia of famine.

Some reef fish are 'homebodies'

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 10:06:15 +0100

New research has found that some reef fish spend most of their time close to home, rather than travelling far away as previously thought.

Banning fishing gear helps reef

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:37:10 +0100

Restricting the use of certain types of fishing gear could help protect the world's reefs from climate change, a study has found.

Farmers develop most cancer

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

A recent study found that NZ farmers have the highest risk of leukaemia of any group – and women much more than men.

Temperate forest stores carbon

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

A recent study found that an Australian forest has the highest carbon density of any forest in the world – and oddly, it’s temperate.

Athletic stretches not needed

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

A study on stretching before exercise has found that it doesn’t affect overall injury rate – just which areas get injured.

Removing pests restores niche

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

In a recent study, a native bird species was able to recolonise an island without assistance after introduced pests were wiped out.

Vitamin D gene could treat MS

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

The discovery of new genes involved in multiple sclerosis suggests vitamin D could treat the debilitating disease.

Opinion: Health and the urban environment: revolutions revisited

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 06:58:16 +0100

Gordon McGranahan notes that the public health revolutions of the 19th and 20th centuries did nothing to address the underlying environmental problem - and now, in the 21st century, we are being called to account for it.

Test may predict bowel cancer

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

New technology that can pick up early signs of cancerous colorectal growths could improve bowel cancer screening methods.

Nerve fibers grow cleverly

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Researchers were recently able to predict how nerve fibers navigate growth – using a model where they grew in the smartest way possible.

Cats escape parasite blame

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

A recent study found that cats aren’t the only animals spreading toxoplasmosis in Australia – native carnivores may be responsible.

Diggers find ancient elephant

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Archaeologists working in Indonesia have unearthed an unusually large elephant that is about 200 thousand years old.

Close-up reveals immune facts

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Researchers have used new microscope technology to watch immune responses in a live animal – and have learned a lot already.

Opinion: The ecological imperative of the one-child family is also better for children

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 07:18:50 +0100

The one child family is fast becoming an ecological necessity in an already overpopulated world, writes Tim Murray. Is our ambition for the nuclear family destroying our planet? And our children's future?

Feathers reveal owls' secrets

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

An Australian researcher has used stray feathers to DNA fingerprint and improve our understanding of threatened owls.

Jellyfish boom threatens ocean

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

Human activities have caused a major increase in the number of jellyfish, which now pose a threat to the ocean, research has shown.

Infestation decimates banksias

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

A recent study found that a million hectares are now infested by Phytophthora dieback, and many banksia species may go extinct.

Students miss ‘morning after’

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0100

A recent study found students were confused about the ‘morning after’ pill – it doesn’t cause an abortion, and can work a few mornings after.