Monkeys living on an island without big cat predators do not show any particular alarm when recorded tiger growls are played to them, according to research by a UC Davis graduate student. The pig-tailed langurs do, however, flee in a hurry from the sound of human voices.

Anaerobic microbes in the Earth's oceans consume 90 percent of the methane produced by methane hydrates – methane trapped in ice – preventing large amounts of methane from reaching the atmosphere. Researchers now have evidence that the two microbes that accomplish this feat do not simply reverse the way methane-producing microbes work, but use a sulfur compound instead.

Large numbers of certain cells in the lungs of patients diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis may increase their chance of death, University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have discovered.

The latest medications can delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease, but none are able to reverse its devastating effects. This limitation often makes early detection the key to Alzheimer’s patients maintaining a good quality of life for as long as possible.

A newly discovered parasite so dramatically transforms its host, an ant, that the ant comes to resemble a juicy red berry, ripe for picking, according to a report accepted for publication in The American Naturalist. This is the first example of fruit mimicry caused by a parasite, the co-authors say.

Human evolution has created enhancements in key genes connected to the p53 regulatory network – the so-called guardian of the genome – by creating additional safeguards in human genes to boost the network’s ability to guard against DNA damage that could cause cancer or a variety of genetic diseases, an international team of scientists led by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center writes in the Jan. 22 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Because genetically engineered mouse models are increasingly powerful tools in understanding the risks and mechanisms of human diseases – and rodents do not have the same evolution-based safeguards in p53 function as humans – the study also underscores the need for additional considerations in the interpretation of research using rodent models.

A gigantic palm that flowers itself to death and exists as part of an entirely unique genus has been discovered in Madagascar; its name will be published in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society on 17 January 2008. The mystery palm has a huge trunk which towers over 18m high and fan leaves which are 5m in diameter ?among the largest known in flowering plants. This is the most massive palm ever to be found in Madagascar.