Researchers find molecular support for Darwin’s theory

October 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - McGill University researchers in Canada have shown that different patterns of training and learning lead to different types of memory formation. Describing a study they conducted in the Journal of Neuroscience, they say that its significance lies in the fact that it identifies the molecular differences between spaced training (distributed over time) and massed training (at very short intervals), shedding light on brain function and guiding learning and training principles.

September 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The ability to manipulate songbird genes may yield secrets of vocal learning and how nerve cells (neurons) are replaced. For the first time, researchers have devised a way to alter the genes of the zebra finch, one of a handful of social animals that learn to "speak" by imitating their fellows.

September 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a very rare finding, scientists have discovered an unusual kind of meteorite in the Western Australian desert and have uncovered that it came from the innermost main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Meteorites are the only surviving physical record of the formation of our Solar System.

September 4th, 2009 NY researchers give ladybugs a birds-and-bees talkITHACA, N.Y. — A year after they launched a nationwide search for dwindling native ladybugs, New York researchers are breeding colonies of them from insects found by citizen scientists in Oregon and Colorado.

August 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Archaeologists at the University of Bradford are all set to lead an exploration into how prehistoric people made their living in Italy at the end of the Ice Age. According to a report in Bradford Telegraph and Argus, the research aims to find out how hunter-gatherers in Mediterranean Europe survived before farming became widespread and why the transition to agriculture was a smooth one.

August 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have released a new set of standards for graphically representing biological information which is the biology equivalent of the circuit diagram in electronics. The new set of standards have been released by researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and their colleagues in 30 labs worldwide.

August 4th, 2009 SYDNEY - Researchers have unravelled the mysteries of why and how the queen bee controls the behaviour of her workers. University of Otago zoologists two years ago discovered that queen bees manipulate their offspring's behaviour by releasing a pheromone that blocks aversive learning in young bees.

July 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Reports indicate that the newest supercomputer, which can perform more than 160 trillion calculations per second, is ready to take on problems in areas such as climate science, hydrogen storage and molecular chemistry. The 21.4 million dollar Chinook supercomputer, built by HP, is almost 15 times faster than its predecessor, and has now been commissioned for use by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the (US) Department of Energy.

June 25th, 2009 LONDON - Scientists have long known that a restricted diet extends life. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified two enzymes that provide a new molecular explanation for how eating less leads to living longer.

June 24th, 2009 LONDON - Homing pigeons have fascinated humans for many years through their uncanny ability to find their way home from thousands of miles away. Now, researchers claim to have found the reason behind it.

June 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - An American study has confirmed that light touch-the sense that lets musicians find the right notes on a keyboard, a seamstress revel in the feel of cool silk, the artisan feel a curve in material and the blind read Braille-depends upon the activity of Merkel cells, which are found in the crescent-shaped clusters in the skin. "Human, primates and any animal that relies on hands for dexterity use their Merkel cells to feel texture and shape.

June 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Harvard University researchers have uncovered a fundamental feedback mechanism that the body uses to regulate clotting of blood. The researchers reach the conclusion by applying cutting-edge techniques in single-molecule manipulation.

June 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers at the University of Leeds, UK, have devised a new 'molecular clock' that aids dating of human migration history. Estimating the chronology of population migrations throughout mankind's early history has always been problematic.

June 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have determined that certain squids can detect light through an organ other than their eyes as well. The study, by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, shows that the light-emitting organ some squids use to camouflage themselves to avoid being seen by predators, usually fish sitting on the ocean floor, also detects light.

June 2nd, 2009 LONDON - A first edition of Charles Darwin's pioneering work On The Origin Of Species, found at a family home, is set to go under the hammer. Only 1,250 copies of the text were created when it was first printed in 1859.