The different functions of white, brown and beige fat might yield new targets in the fight against obesity and metabolic disease. When you think of fat in the human body, you might picture a homogenous, white substance, much like a block of lard. But researchers are learning that the role of fat in metabolism changes […]
Nature
Pests worm their way into genetically modified maize
Broadening of rootworm resistance to toxins highlights the importance of crop rotation. Even with biotech crops, farmers still need to make use of age-old practices such as crop rotation to fight insect pests. That’s the lesson to be drawn from the latest discovery of resistance to the pest-fighting toxins added to maize — also known […]
New contender for ‘fat gene’ found
Researchers may have been focusing on the wrong gene. Scientists studying what they thought was a ‘fat gene’ seem to have been looking in the wrong place, according to research published today in Nature. It suggests instead that the real culprit is another gene that the suspected obesity gene interacts with. In 2007, several genome studies […]
Storm brewing over WHO sugar proposal
Industry backlash expected over suggested cut in intake. Scientists are gearing up for a battle with the food industry after the World Health Organization (WHO) moved to halve its recommendation on sugar intake. Nutrition researchers fear a backlash similar to that seen in 2003, when the WHO released its current guidelines stating that no more […]
Male scent stimulates female goats’ fertility
Single pheromone found to induce ovulation. The distinctive aroma of goats does more than just make barnyards extra fragrant. Male goats can use their heady scent to make female goats ovulate simply by being near them. Researchers had ascribed this ‘male effect’ to chemicals known as primer pheromones — a chemical signal that can cause […]
Canadian government accused of destroying environmental archives
Researchers fear that valuable documents will disappear as libraries close and merge. Scientists in Canada are up in arms over the recent closure of more than a dozen federal science libraries run by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and Environment Canada. The closures were mostly completed by last autumn, but hit the headlines last week […]
Why fruitflies know their beer
Competing neuronal pathways help adults to choose locations with just the right amount of alcohol for their offspring to thrive. Fruitflies know exactly how much alcohol will be good for their young. Larvae living on a food source with the right concentration of ethanol will grow into heavy, healthy adults and will be protected against […]
Discovery of organ explains koalas’ super-bass notes
Throat structure explains why male mating calls are bizarrely deeper than expected for the animal’s size. For such diminutive animals, male koalas have an uncannily deep voice. The pitch of their bellowing mating call is 20 times lower than would be anticipated for their size, and more like something you would hear from an elephant, […]
Smelly microbes help hyenas to communicate
Bacteria in scent glands give information about hosts’ species, sex and reproductive state. The hordes of microbes that inhabit every nook and cranny of every animal are not just passive hitchhikers: they actively shape their hosts’ well-being and even behaviour. Now, researchers have found evidence that bacteria living in the scent glands of hyenas help […]
Enhanced medical vision
The ability to look inside the human body without using a scalpel has revolutionized how we diagnose and treat illness and injury. See the infographic in Nature.