ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

How the yellowhammer bird became a Kiwi: From hero to villain in 15 years

Posted: 16 Jan 2015 01:15 PM PST

Yellowhammers are small, colorful and apparently innocuous birds, but they were once considered to be enemies by farmers in New Zealand. Yellowhammers were introduced there to help fight insect crop pests, but instead became pests themselves. A new study uses newspapers and documents from the 19th century to reconstruct the history of how the yellowhammer went from hero to villain in New Zealand in just 15 years.

Overcoming treatment resistance in prostate cancer: New strategy proposed

Posted: 16 Jan 2015 01:14 PM PST

Two promising biomarker candidates in prostate cancer have been discovered by researchers, whose work may lead to a new treatment strategy aggressive, treatment-resistant forms of the disease.

Developing vaccines for insect-borne viruses

Posted: 16 Jan 2015 06:23 AM PST

Rift Valley Fever, a mosquito-borne disease, can devastate a sheep herd causing 90 percent mortality in lambs and 100 percent abortion rates in pregnant ewes. Current vaccines either don't provide long-term immunity or cause spontaneous abortions in pregnant ewes. Now researchers are developing a new vaccine that is proving to be both safe and effective.

Shining a light on quantum dots measurement

Posted: 15 Jan 2015 01:35 PM PST

Using the cadmium selenide quantum dot, researchers collaborated to understand how protein corona forms and what is different about the quantum dot before and after the formation of the corona.