Biology

Biology

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  Hog-nosed skunk causes stir at Grand Canyon

  Desert bighorn sheep, river otters and mountain lions, yes. But a hog-nosed skunk at the Grand Canyon? Hardly. The striped creatures are usually found ... 

• Giant squid filmed in ocean depths for 1st time

  After a hundred dives deep into the Pacific, scientists and broadcasters say they have captured video images of a giant squid in its natural habitat ... 

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  Retooling Pap test to spot more kinds of cancer

  For years, doctors have lamented that there's no Pap test for deadly ovarian cancer. Wednesday, scientists reported encouraging signs that one day, ... 

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  Chicago lottery winner died from cyanide poisoning

  With no signs of trauma and nothing to raise suspicions, the sudden death of a Chicago man just as he was about to collect nearly $425,000 in lottery ... 

• Court won't stop embryonic stem cell research

  The Supreme Court won't stop the government's funding of embryonic stem cell research, despite some researchers' complaints that the work relies on ... 

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  Rare San Francisco river otter stumps researchers

  A rapt crowd followed a trail of bubbles that zipped over the surface of a seaside pond in the ruins of a 19th century bath in San Francisco. 

• Fla. man pleads guilty in NY in dinosaur dispute

  A Florida fossils dealer pleaded guilty to smuggling charges Thursday and agreed to give up a celebrated $1 million dinosaur skeleton seized by the U. 

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  Nobel scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini dies in Rome

  Rita Levi-Montalcini, a biologist who conducted underground research in defiance of Fascist persecution and went on to win a Nobel Prize for helping ... 

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  Cincinnati professor nominated for Nobel dies

  Elwood Jensen, an award-winning University of Cincinnati professor nominated for the Nobel Prize for medicine for work that opened the door to ... 

• German scientists seek to clone perfect Xmas trees

  The hunt for the perfect Christmas tree may soon become a lot easier: just pick a nice clone. That's what German scientists are now working on: They ... 

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  Huge DNA code of the Christmas tree being revealed

  To millions of people, the Christmas tree is a cheerful sight. To scientists who decipher the DNA codes of plants and animals, it's a monster. 

• Amgen buying deCODE Genetics for $415 million

  Biotech pioneer Amgen Inc., in a bid for a big edge in using people's genetic information to find better ways to attack diseases, is buying human ... 

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  Blighted icon: Volunteers aim to revive chestnut

  Jim Hurst has doted on his trees, arranged in three "families" on a bluff high above the rushing French Broad River. He installed a drip irrigation ... 

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  Report: Calif. stem cell agency needs overhaul

  California has transformed into a major player in stem cell research, but the taxpayer-funded institute responsible has "significant deficiencies" in ... 

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  Gene-altered mosquitoes could be used vs. dengue

  Mosquito control officials in the Florida Keys are waiting for the federal government to sign off on an experiment that would release hundreds of ... 

• Study could spur wider use of prenatal gene tests

  A new study sets the stage for wider use of gene testing in early pregnancy. Scanning the genes of a fetus reveals far more about potential health ... 

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  Fast-growing fish may never wind up on your plate

  Salmon that's been genetically modified to grow twice as fast as normal could soon show up on your dinner plate. That is, if the company that makes ... 

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  Tapping citizen-scientists for a novel gut check

  The bacterial zoo inside your gut could look very different if you're a vegetarian or an Atkins dieter, a couch potato or an athlete, fat or thin. 

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  Study: Lion ranges, populations dropping in Africa

  The lions that roam Africa's savannahs have lost as much as 75 percent of their habitat in the last 50 years as humans overtake their land and the ... 

• New Alzheimer's drug studies offer patients hope

  For Alzheimer's patients and their families, desperate for an effective treatment for the epidemic disease, there's hope from new studies starting up ... 

• Court to decide if human genes can be patented

  The Supreme Court announced Friday it will decide whether companies can patent human genes, a decision that could reshape medical research in the ... 

• Study: Like a tree, growth rings show lobster age

  For the first time, scientists have figured out how to determine the age of a lobster — by counting its rings, like a tree. Nobody knows how old ...