It has long been recognized that birds possess the ability to use the Earth’s magnetic field for their navigation, although just how this is done has not yet been clarified. However, the discovery of iron-containing structures in the beaks of homing pigeons in a new study (1) by Gerta Fleissner and her colleagues at the University of Frankfurt offers a promising insight into this complex topic. The article will be published online mid-March in Springer’s journal Naturwissenschaften.

Exposure to phthalates, a common chemical found in everything from plastics to soaps, already has been connected to reproductive problems and now, for the first time, is linked to abdominal obesity and insulin resistance in adult males, according to a study by the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Chronic heart failure resulting from dilated cardiomyopathy is rapidly emerging as a disease of epidemic proportions.1 Molecular mechanisms are being studied and advances have been made in a minority of cases, e.g.: the familial forms. Intracellular [Ca2+]i homeostasis is essential for normal cardiac function and integrity, and dysregulation of [Ca2+]i is a hallmark of advanced heart failure.2 The primary trigger for cardiac [Ca2+]i transients is calcium entry through the pore subunit of the voltage-dependent L-type channels (L-VDCC), but their role in heart failure is still controversial. Electrophysiological studies on individual L-VDCCs from failing human heart have revealed an increased single-channel activity but the mechanism for this biophysical phenotype has remained unknown.3,4

The distribution of the four nucleotides along the DNA sequence encodes the genetic information in living systems. However, do nucleic acids possess other attributes that contribute to their biological functions? Recent work of a team led by Stoyno Stoynov, working at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, suggests that thermodynamic stability of DNA/DNA and RNA/DNA duplexes influences mRNA transcription. The manuscript appears in the March 14 issue of the international, peer-reviewed, open-access online journal PLoS ONE.

Scientists have discovered a new type of cell that appears to play a role in the development of cancer – a highly volatile, precancerous stem cell that can either remain benign or become malignant, depending upon environmental cues. The finding may help define the role of cancer stem cells in the growth and recurrence of the disease as well as offer new options for cancer prevention, detection and treatment.

Although the Galápagos finches were to play a pivotal role in the inception of Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural selection, he had no inkling of their significance when he collected them during his voyage on the HMS Beagle.

The North African fossil mandible superimposed over horizontal developmental lines on an incisor tooth, with the internal daily lines shown in the black and white image on the bottom. With this non-destructive technique it is now possible to accurately and non-destructively reconstruct how fossil teeth grew and how old juvenile individuals were when they died. The circular image on the left shows the organization of the third generation synchrotron at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France, where the first "virtual tooth histology" images were captured from fossil humans. Credit: Paul Tafforeau/ESRF The origins of modern humans continues to be one of the most hotly debated topics among anthropologists, and there is little consensus about where and when the first members of our species, Homo sapiens, became fully modern. While fossil evidence tells a complex tale of mosaic change during the African Stone Age, almost nothing is known about changes in human 'life history,' or the timing of development, reproductive scheduling, and lifespan.

Changes in the body size of fossil cupuladriid bryozoans indicate water temperature. Smithsonian scientists and colleagues report a new study that may shake up the way paleontologists think about how environmental change shapes life on Earth. The researchers summarized the environmental, ecological and evolutionary consequences for Caribbean shallow-water marine communities when the Isthmus of Panama was formed. They concluded that extinctions resulting when one ocean became two were delayed by 2 million years.

The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health is among the first medical centers in the country taking part in a novel clinical trial investigating if a subject's own stem cells can treat a form of severe coronary artery disease.

Infectious disease specialists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found a new method for identifying suspect viruses and bacteria that cause some of the most common acute infections in children.