Contrary to 40 years of conventional wisdom, a new analysis to be published Friday in the journal Nature suggests that old growth forests are usually "carbon sinks" - they continue to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and mitigate climate change for centuries.

Unlike some parents, adult stem cells don't seem to mind when their daughters get a tattoo. In fact, they're willing to pass them along.

Yeast, the essential microorganism for fermentation in the brewing of beer, converts carbohydrates into alcohol and other products that influence appearance, aroma, and taste. In a study published online today in Genome Research (www.genome.org), researchers have identified the genomic origins of the lager yeast Saccharomyces pastorianus, which could help brewers to better control the brewing process.

A set of stripy legs in a camera trap photo snapped in an African forest indicates something to cheer about, say researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society. The legs belong to an okapi—a rare forest giraffe—which apparently has survived in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga National Park, despite over a decade of civil war and increased poaching.

The drug acyclovir, used successfully for decades to suppress outbreaks of oral and genital herpes, also can directly suppress HIV-1 in tissues already infected with a herpesvirus, researchers have discovered. The finding opens the way for the development of a new type of anti-HIV drug based on acyclovir.

Oil spills and other environmental pollution, including low level leaks from underground pipes and storage tanks, could be quickly and easily spotted in the future using colour coded bacteria, scientists heard today (Thursday 11 September 2008) at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn meeting being held this week at Trinity College, Dublin.

Sticky glue secreted by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus could be the clue scientists have been searching for to make an effective vaccine against MRSA, medical researchers heard today (Wednesday 10 September 2008) at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn meeting being held this week at Trinity College, Dublin.

Microbes that break down oil and petroleum are more diverse than we thought, suggesting hydrocarbons were used as an energy source early in Earth's history, scientists heard today (Wednesday 10 September 2008) at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn meeting being held this week at Trinity College, Dublin. These microbes can change the composition of oil and natural gas and can even control the release of some greenhouse gases. Understanding the role of microbes in consuming hydrocarbons may therefore help us access their role in the natural control of climate change.

The phenomenon of "shimmering" in giant honeybees, in which hundreds—or even thousands—of individual honeybees flip their abdomens upwards within a split-second to produce a Mexican Wave-like pattern across the bee nest, has received much interest but both its precise mode of action and its purpose have long remained a mystery.

Some studies have demonstrated H. pylori stimulates the release of interleukin-8 (IL-8) from gastric epithelia, which initiates inflammatory damage to gastric mucosa and plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of H. pylori infections. H. pylori lipopolysaccharide (H. pylori-LPS) is the major initiator in H. pylori-induced IL-8 production via activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) pathway in gastric epithelia. Considering the novel finding that H. pylori is an indigenous biota in gastric microflora including Lactobacilli and hypothesis that the disturbance of gastric microecosystem plays a more important role in pathogenetic mechanisms of H. pylori, the eradiation of H. pylori doesn't seem justified to everyone. The speculation on validity of restoration of the gastric microecosystem has been demonstrated by therapeutic effects of Lactobacilli administration on H. pylori-associated diseases. But whether Lactobacilli inhibit H. pylori-LPS-induced IL-8 production through blocking H. pylori-LPS-activated TLR4 pathway hasn't been well researched.

Emerging cryopreservation techniques are increasing hope of restoring fertility for women after diseases such as ovarian cancer that lead to destruction of reproductive tissue. The same techniques can also be used to maintain stocks of farm animals, and protect against extinction of endangered animal species by maintaining banks of ovarian tissue or even nascent embryos that can used to produce offspring at some point in the future.