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Mice Can Sense Oxygen Through Their Skin

16:47 18-04-2008; source: www.sciencedaily.com

Biologists have discovered that the skin of mice can sense low levels of oxygen and regulate the production of erythropoietin, or EPO, the hormone that stimulates our bodies to produce red blood cells and allows us to adapt to high-altitude, low-oxygen environments.

Birds Announce Their Sentry Duty To Help Comrades Get A Good Meal

16:47 18-04-2008; source: www.sciencedaily.com

Soldiers on sentry duty in hostile territory keep in regular radio contact with their colleagues to assure them that all is well and that they are safe to carry on their maneuvers. New research in Current Biology reveals that this is also a feature of the bird world and is very likely to be a rare example of truly cooperative behavior.

Study In Flies Points To Unisex Brain

16:47 18-04-2008; source: www.sciencedaily.com

While males and females might sometimes act as though they come from different planets, a new study in flies suggests they are both equipped with a largely unisex brain. By artificially triggering the neurons responsible for singing -- normally a male only activity -- the researchers made female flies play their first tune.

Many Captive Tigers Are Of Purebred Ancestry; Finding Raises Their Conservation Value

16:47 18-04-2008; source: www.sciencedaily.com

Tigers held in captivity around the world -- including those in zoos, circuses and private homes -- may hold considerable conservation value for the rapidly dwindling wild populations around the world.

Inbred Males' Scent Gives Them Away, So Female Mice Stay Away

16:47 18-04-2008; source: www.sciencedaily.com

Female mice can steer clear of inbred males on the basis of their scent alone. Biologists found that female mice chose to associate with males producing a greater diversity of major urinary proteins.

Yeast Has Potential For Selecting Lou Gehrig's Disease Drugs, Study Suggests

16:47 18-04-2008; source: www.sciencedaily.com

Researchers are developing a novel approach to screen for drugs to combat neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease -- using yeast cells. The clumping process of proteins takes decades in humans but the researchers could model the process within a matter of hours in yeast cells. This now allows for rapid genetic screening to identify proteins that can reverse the harmful effects of the disease protein; visualizing the clumping; and testing molecules that could eliminate or prevent clumping.