DNA Diagnostics Center (DDC), the world’s largest private paternity testing company, is offering free DNA testing to families that cannot afford the regular fees. Twenty Tri-State families who visit the DDC Fairfield facility on June 10 and 11 can qualify for the testing by discussing their situation with a paternity counselor.

Usually when you give up something, there's a price to pay. Not so in the case of the Australian Bynoe's gecko. This line of all-female geckos doesn't need sex or a male to reproduce and, contrary to expectations, these "Wonder Woman" geckos can run farther and faster than their sexually reproducing relatives. The research findings are published in the journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology (Vol. 78, 3, May/June 2005) by Michael Kearney, Rebecca Wahl and Kellar Autumn.

Adding a common ingredient in shampoo to paints and varnishes can create self-sanitizing coatings for frequently touched surfaces in public buildings that continue killing germs for months, according to research conducted by a multi-state consortium of high school students and retirees.

Just as the printing press revolutionized the creation of reading matter, a "nano-printing" technique developed at MIT could enable the mass production of nano-devices currently built one at a time.

The most immediate candidate for this innovation is the DNA microarray, a nano-device used to diagnose and understand genetic illnesses such as Alzheimer's, viral illnesses such as AIDS, and certain types of cancer.

Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the Linnaeus Centre for Bioinformatics (LCB) at Uppsala University in Sweden have developed a new bioinformatics technique for systematically analyzing key regions in DNA that help control gene activity. The cooperative efforts were headed by Krzysztof Fidelis in the United States and by Jan Komorowski in Sweden.

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced today that the Large-Scale Sequencing Research Network will target 13 more organisms as part of its ongoing effort to produce genomic data that will expand biological knowledge and improve human health.

Patients who take medication for cancer often find themselves with a new problem when their treatment ends. It's called "chemobrain," a common consequence of chemotherapy that causes memory problems, confusion and difficulty in concentrating.

Symptoms of chemobrain can also include lack of focus, inability to organize daily activities, mental confusion, memory loss and decreased mental clarity.

Biota Holdings Limited announced today that it has discovered a new class of orally-effective, potent antivirals against RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) infection. Biota has filed worldwide patents and selected a lead candidate with a series of backups for further preclinical development prior to human clinical trials.

Microbiologists seeking ways to eliminate pollution from waterways with microbes instead discovered that some pollution-eating bacteria commonly found in freshwater ponds can generate electricity. They present their findings today at the 105th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

NOAA/Virginia Sea Grant has awarded Virginia Tech $119,000 to study whether high hydrostatic pressure will inactivate Hepatitis A virus in both shucked and unshucked oysters.

Researchers at the University of Barcelona, Spain, show for the first time that bacteria, in addition to yeast, are involved in the secondary fermentation of the sparkling wine known as Cava. They report their findings today at the 105th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.