The spread of West Nile Virus appears to be triggered by a complex interaction of mosquitoes, nesting birds and specific weather patterns, scientists say, which leads to "amplification" of the virus within mosquito populations.

Zooplankton species captured during the latest Atlantic expedition of the Census of Marine Life (aboard NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown). Oxygyrus keraudreni.Census of Marine Life scientists trawled rarely explored tropical ocean depths between the southeast US coast and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to inventory and photograph the variety and abundance of zooplankton – small sea "bugs" that form a vital link in the ocean food chain – and other life forms.

This new study could potentially help researchers find new ways to avoid the problem of multidrug resistance and enhance the potency of existing drug compounds.

Everyone knows mutations – genetic mistakes in DNA, the material of heredity – are bad: The more mutations in the cell's DNA, the higher the risk of cancer developing. But in the last few years it has become clear that the very processes that generate mutations, if they take place at a relatively low frequency, can actually protect us from cancer. How does the body know how to keep these processes in check, making sure they don't rocket out of control, causing a sharp rise in our cancer risk?

A gene that degrades the body's collagen infrastructure has been shown to make fat cells fatter and expand girth.

Scientists at the Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC) and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) report today about a breakthrough in our understanding of how the growth and development of forest trees is controlled. In an article published in the international journal Science, they show that the FT gene that was previously shown to control the flowering time of annual plants, also controls tree flowering.

Scientists have determined that decay-accelerating factor (DAF), a protein found in epithelial cells in the stomach, acts as a receptor for the bacteria Helicobacter pylori. Blocking this interaction could lead to new drugs that reduce the risk of peptic ulcer disease or gastric cancer. The research appears as the "Paper of the Week" in the May 12 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, an American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology journal.

The inventor of DNA Fingerprinting at the University of Leicester, Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, is to be honoured with a prestigious international accolade later this year, it has been announced.

By studying microscopic hairs called cilia on algae, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that an internal structure that helps build cilia is also responsible for a cell's response to external signals.