Life Sciences

From: Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications

New analysis tool helps predict whether plasma explosions from the sun will affect Earth’s environment

Infectious diseases such as malaria and syphilis can be diagnosed rapidly and reliably in the field by using a simple test developed by Canadian scientists. The test is based on the use of DNAzymes and gold nanoparticles. As the researchers report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, their test allows for the sensitive detection of bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

Research in Wildlife Society Bulletin explores the impact of a falling number of hunters at a time when bird numbers are rising faster than they have for decades.

From: New Phytologist

The first countrywide assessment of springtime tree budding based on in-the-field measurements has found that by the end of the century tree budding across the United States will occur more than a month earlier

From: Wildlife Monograph

From: Journal of Zoology

From: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society

Over 500 billion cells in our bodies will be replaced daily, yet natural selection has enabled us to develop defenses against the cellular mutations which could cause cancer. It is this relationship between evolution and the body’s fight against cancer which is explored in a new special issue of the Open Access journal Evolutionary Applications.

How can pharmaceuticals be safely carried through the acidic environment of the stomach and into the intestines? A team of Canadian and Australian researchers has developed a novel nanotransporter that consists of porous particles of silicon dioxide stabilized with a whey protein. In acidic environments the protein forms a gel that closes off the pores; at higher pH values, the pores are opened.

The massive tsunami which crashed into Japan’s pacific coast caused a humanitarian disaster, yet the impact on fisheries, one of Japan’s most important industries, was no less severe. The first assessment of Japan’s marine ecosystems since the disaster reveals the impact on sea urchins, algae and other species which underpin Japan’s delicate marine ecosystem.

Pre-born babies have the ability to identify phonetic sounds from their native language if they hear speech while in the womb, new research has discovered. The study, carried out in the U.S. and Sweden, asked if newborns demonstrated prenatal learning by measuring responses to vowels in different languages. The findings revealed that the language heard by fetuses does impact newborn perceptions of native language.

Research into the scientific crimes committed during the Nazi era has traditionally focused on the perpetrators. A new paper in Clinical Anatomy turns the attention towards the victims by investigating the names Hermann Stieve, chairman of the anatomical department at the University of Berlin, listed after using their bodies for his research. The published list of names, biographical data and nationalities reveals the backgrounds of an array of prisoners, the majority of whom were executed for political reasons before taking their place in one of the darkest chapters of scientific history.

Wiley is pleased to announce the publication of Science Communication:  A Practical Guide for Scientists, a hands-on guide to the increasingly significant discipline of science communication and public engagement.

Special Issue Explores the Impact of Climate Change on the Fields of Toxicology and Chemistry

An international team of scientists studying the elusive nocturnal primate the slow loris in the jungles of Borneo have discovered an entirely new species