An immuno-contraceptive vaccine causes an animal's immune system to produce antibodies that act against some essential event or structure in the reproductive process. The antibodies can act against sperm, eggs or reproductive hormones, which prevent either fertilization or the production of sperm and ova.

There is an increased risk of fetal heart problems when mothers carry particular antibodies associated with rheumatic diseases, according to an abstract presented by Yale School of Medicine researchers at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Conference February 9 in San Francisco.

New light has been shed on proteorhodopsin, the light-sensitive protein found in many marine bacteria. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California at Berkeley have demonstrated that when the ability to respire oxygen is impaired, bacterium equipped with proteorhodopsin will switch to solar power to carry out vital life processes.

How will global warming affect ocean circulation and sea levels in the centuries to come? Are we destroying the world's coral reefs? Why are dead zones in the oceans on the rise? Can aquaculture be environmentally sustainable? And how are we all to blame for the collapse of coastal fisheries?

Children with Angelman syndrome are often seen laughing and smiling, but this cheerful demeanor masks serious neurological problems — mental retardation, movement problems and seizures.

Biologists at the Carnegie Institution's Department of Plant Biology have discovered a new way that plant cells govern nutrient regulation—neighboring pore-like structures at the cell's surface physically interact to control the uptake of a vital nutrient, nitrogen. It is the first time scientists have found that the interaction of neighboring molecules is essential to this regulation. Since plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi all share similar genes for this activity, the scientists believe that the same feature could occur across species. The discovery, published in the February 11th on-line edition of Nature, has widespread potential—from understanding human diseases, such as kidney function, to engineering better crops.