Bacteria feel pressures to evolve antibiotic resistance and other new abilities in response to a changing environment, and they react by 'stealing' genetic information from other better-adapted types of bacteria, according to research published in Nature Genetics today.

Max Planck researchers uncover how a nanoscale 'compass' inside bacteria orients them to the Earth's magnetic field.

A Queen's University study of fruit flies that may revolutionize the way birth defects are studied has identified the genes affected by a widely-prescribed drug known to cause birth defects.

A recently opened pulp mill in Chile has devastated one of South America's most biologically outstanding wetlands, decimating its famed population of black-necked swans, along with most other bird life, a WWF-led team of investigators said Monday.

Removing an egg from the endangered whooping crane's nest increases the species chances of survival despite governmental concerns about tampering with nature, says a University of Alberta scientist.

Editor : Be sure to check out the complete report on the HIV situation worldwide, available in several languages.

There is new evidence that adult HIV infection rates have decreased in certain countries and that changes in behaviour to prevent infection—such as increased use of condoms, delay of first sexual experience and fewer sexual partners—have played a key part in these declines. The new UN report also indicates, however, that overall trends in HIV transmission are still increasing, and that far greater HIV prevention efforts are needed to slow the epidemic.