• New flying reptile species found!
• Trap for common house mouse (Mus musculus) found in desk of biology professor
• Strange new assassin spiders found.
• A new mammal?
• Rediscovering the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker.
• Who Needs a Stinkin' Nap? Scientists have found a genetic mutation that allows fruit flies to sleep considerably less without any apparent setbacks. If researchers can pinpoint the equivalent gene in humans, they could be on their way to finding the ultimate nonsleeping pill, experts say.

• The Flower and the Fly: The amazing extreme pollination relationship between long-nosed flys and deep floral tubes in southern Africa

• The evolutionary "arms race" between poisonous newts and garter snakes - advantage: snake.

• Island of the Lost Hominids: Remains of a previously unknown species of hominid have been discovered on the Indonesian Island of Flores. A new wrinkle in the evolutionary history of humankind!
  • Researchers verify Flores hobbit as new species of human being.
  • Artist's reconstruction of the Flores hominin.
  • Scientists Outraged over Damage to 'Hobbit' Remains.
• Faster than a Hyena? Running May Make Humans Special. Study suggests that the ability to run long distances efficiently was a key evolutionary innovation for humans.
• The Long March of Human Genes: New evidence that the ancestors of modern humans originated in Africa and not independently in different regions of the world.
• Jaw-dropping theory of human evolution: Did mankind trade chewing power for a bigger brain?

• Python heart muscle grows 40% in 48 hours after large meal! - Snake can synthesize fresh heart muscle to cope with extra metabolic demand of digestion.
• A Devil of a Disease: Tasmanian devils are being wiped out by a deadly facial cancer that may spread when the animals fight each other.
• How Snakes Picked Their Poison: venomous snakes recruited proteins that played relatively mundane roles and shaped them into potent killers, a new genetic analysis shows.
• The Mind Takes Control: article about the first patient in a controversial clinical trial that seeks to prove brain-computer interfaces can return function to people paralyzed by injury or disease.

• Rogue Finger Gene Got Bats Airborne - how did bats evolve from terrestrial mammals and why are there no transitional forms in the fossil record? a researcher in Colorado may have found the answer.
• HIV "Super-Strain" Detected in NYC Patient - mutant form of the virus appears to be drug-resistant and causes very rapid onset of AIDS.
• Chimpanzee Genome Sheds Light on the Evolution of Human Senses - studies by Cornell's own Andrew Clark and others compare human and chimp genomes to understand what makes us human.
• Mining for Microbes - researchers characterize a strange microbial community that thrives inside an old mine that is now an EPA SuperFund environmental disaster site.
• Gene Therapy Put On Hold as Third Child Develops Cancer - trial of treatment for rare, childhood illness (severe combined immunodeficiency disease) is halted, again.

• Bird Flu - is it the next "1918" class influenza outbreak?

• Young Blood Makes Muscles Spry - new study indicates that blood from young mice helps older ones heal injured muscle.
• Vaccine May Extend Life for Prostate Cancer Patients - men who took Provenge lived an average of nearly 26 months, or 4 1/2 months longer than others.

• Can You Hear Me Now? - researchers use a virus to deliver gene therapy restoring hearing in deaf guinea pigs!
• Australian "Ark" Needed to Combat Invasive Cane Toads - conservationists are taking pairs of endangered animals to toad-free islands to breed safely.
• Is There Life on Mars? - researchers split over odd rock features.
• Australian Museum Drops Bid to Clone Extinct Tasmanian "Tiger" - project to clone the animal using DNA from a pickled thylacine pup has been abandoned because the quality of the DNA was too poor to work with.

• The Fox and the Hound - were dogs bred to be smart or just to look cute and not bite?

• Dolly's Creator Granted Human Cloning License - Professor Ian Wilmut, of the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, was granted a license to clone human embryos for medical research.
• Meanwhile, it Seems Likely that the US Government Will Ban Some Forms of Human Cloning Research

• Zebrafish Glow in the Morning - firefly gene linked to biological clock promoter helps researchers understand circadian rhythms.

• New Trigger for Breast Cancer: Genetic code normally expressed in immune system cells can trigger the disease when its part of a virus's DNA.
• Hominids Lose Control - Ancient Inbreeding Responsible for Today's Disease?
• Research Experience: NSF/Research Experience for Undergraduates Program
• JOB: Cornell Plantations Internships (paid) available.

• Scientists Study Chromatin: Find Genome Structure Responsible for Gene Activation
• Making Memories Stick: Closer to understanding the genetic basis of memory.
• Loss of Control: Just having genes isn't enough--they've got to be turned on.
• The Incredible Shrinking Genome
• Of Stem Cell and Neanderthals
• Scientists find Nearest Relative of Whale is the Hippopotamus.
• Are Humans Still Evolving?
• MicroRNA Molecules May Regulate 1/3 of the Genome.
• Kibble for Thought: Tandem repeat variation may be responsible for much of dog diversity.

How The Nose Knows - Columbia U. researchers win Nobel Prize for their pioneering work on the sense of smell. Humans have as many as 350 different olfactory receptors, all of which are G-protein linked receptors (remember Unit 8?).

Smelling Like Sperm - "Scientists have found that one of the receptors sperm use to locate an egg is also present in our nose, where it allows us to detect certain scents. Men who can't smell these scents may produce sperm that can't find the egg, making "sniffing tests" an attractive future tool for judging male fertility. Men who have trouble smelling bourgeonal (smells like the flower Lily of the Valley) may produce sperm that have trouble locating the egg!"

Tyrannosaurs Evolved Head First - The most primitive tyrannosauroid ever found was decked out with downy "protofeathers" and a T. rex-like skull.

Ancestral Mammal's Genome Reconstructed - "It's not exactly Jurassic Park, but a team of researchers has reconstructed a portion of the genome of an ancient shrewlike creature believed to be the common ancestor of all placental mammals, including humans."

Panda handstand makes its mark - Remarkable new film of wild pandas shows how the rare bears engage in some gymnastics to mark their territory.

Nocturnal color vision in geckos - humans can't do this, but geckos can!

Survival of the Pinheads - Research on Australian snakes documents adaptive change in response to an invasive species, the cane toad.

Singing with Superfast Muscles - While a typical human limb muscle has a maximum contraction frequency of only 3-5 Hz, rattlesnake tailshaker muscles can contract at rates of 90 Hz, and toadfish swim bladder muscles produce a mating call by oscillating at 200 Hz!

Killer fingertips can stop E.coli - Scientists have found how the skin of the fingertips defends itself against a common bug that causes diarrhoea.

Beaked whales echolocate on prey.

Stickiness takes on new shapes - Model of how animals stick to walls could aid engineers.

Biomimetics: Ideas Stolen Right From Nature

Hide and See - are bright colors of reef fish camoflague or communication?

A Whiff of Things to Come - Paleontologists have found a missing link in the evolution of air-breathing nostrils.

Single Origin for Eyes? - New data showing unexpected similarities between the eyes of a marine worm and those of humans suggest a shared origin. More on tackling "Darwin's greatest challenge".

Tyson recommends:

Craig Venter's Epic Voyage
" He wanted to play God, so he cracked the human genome. Now he wants to play Darwin and collect the DNA of everything on the planet."

When Viruses Attack
"It's not a lunar lander and it's not a new breed of killer mosquito. It's a very common bacteria-eating virus and researchers have a closer look at it now than ever before."

Cornell in the News:

• First synthetic tree created by CU researchers.
• Rediscovering the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker.
• Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld are now species of slime-mold beetles -- but strictly in homage - former Entomology Prof. Quentin Wheeler and former graduate student Kelly Miller '01.
• Disease-fighting chemicals in apples could reduce the risk of breast cancer - Food Science Prof. Rui Hai Liu
• Secrets of whales' long-distance songs are being unveiled. - Dr. Christopher Clark, I.P. Johnson Director of the Bioacoustics Research Program
• Cornell scientists discover critical step in flu virus infection, opening way for universal flu medication and vaccine. - Dr. Gary Whittaker, Dept. of Virology, Cornell Vet School
• How Cornell Lake Source Cooling Works
• How Autumn Leaves Get a Lift
• An onion a day keeps doctor away? Cornell researchers find some onions have excellent anti-cancer benefits
• Weill CU team finds gene that causes heart tumors and limb deformity
• Cornell life sciences site: lifesciences.cornell.edu ^(new!)