News by Subject Biology

Alleviating food insecurity is often seen as one of the fundamental roles a country should fulfill. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is effective in addressing the right to food in the US, and that the program can serve as an example for countries that struggle to provide food for all citizens, according to Craig Gundersen, University of Illinois.

Nitrogen from agricultural production is a major cause of pollution in the Mississippi River Basin and contributes to large dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico. Illinois and other Midwestern states have set goals to reduce nitrogen load through strategies that include different land management practices. A new study from University of Illinois researchers, published in Journal of Environmental Management, uses computer modeling to estimate how those practices may be affected by potential changes in the climate, such as increased rainfall.

Wind energy is increasingly seen as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, as it contributes to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. However, the rapid expansion of wind farms has raised concerns about the impact of wind turbines on wildlife. A new study provides comprehensive data on how turbines affect bird populations. The study suggests ways to mitigate negative effects through wind turbine design and placement, recommending taller turbines, shorter blades, and placement away from bird habitats.

The study, conducted in mice, is the first to show that creatine uptake is critical to the anti-tumor activities of killer T cells, the foot soldiers of the immune system.

University of Freiburg researchers discover a new principle -- how cells protect themselves from mitochondrial defects.

Scientists at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology (CNRS/Collège de France/INSERM) have shown that delta waves emitted while we sleep are not generalized periods of silence during which the cortex rests, as has been described for decades in the scientific literature. Instead, they isolate assemblies of neurons that play an essential role in long-term memory formation. These results were published on Oct. 18, 2019 in Science.

Michigan Medicine researchers find genes that help maintain the 50-50 balance between male and female offspring in mice--and that have major implications for male infertility.