The brain is built for cooperative activity, whether it be dancing on a reality television show, constructing a skyscraper or  working in an office, according to a study led by Johns Hopkins behavioral neuroscientist Eric Fortune and published in the November 4 issue of the journal Science.

Human memory has historically defied precise scientific description, its biological functions broadly but imperfectly defined in psychological terms.

A new species of spider, the white-headed, black and brown-legged spider about the size of a 50-cent piece, found near Northam in Western Australia, was captured in a jar and handed to the Northam office of the Department of Environment and Conservation.

Researchers reports that they have uncovered the biochemical signals in mice that trigger generation of new lung alveoli, the numerous, tiny, grape-like sacs within the lung where oxygen exchange takes place. Specifically, the regenerative signals originate from the specialized endothelial cells that line the interior of blood vessels in the lung.

The mysterious behaviour of female Eclectus parrots killing their sons immediately after they hatch has been unravelled by a team of researchers from the Australian National University. Such sex-specific infanticide occurs in some human societies (where baby girls are killed) but is rare in other species.

Researchers have uncovered a previously unknown molecular pathway that is critical to understanding cardiac arrhythmia and other heart muscle problems. Understanding the basic science of heart and muscle function could open the door to new treatments. 

Although humans and chimpanzees differ in a number of phenotypic characteristics since diverging from a common ancestor about six million years ago, their genomes are >98.5% identical, according to a new research report.