Scientists report for the first time the ability to both deep freeze and reanimate zebrafish embryos. The method could potentially be used to bank larger aquatic and other vertebrate oocytes and embryos, too, for a life in the future.

Despite previous research that indicates such behaviors are unique to humans and great apes, a new study shows that ravens, too, can plan ahead for different types of events , and further, that they are willing to forgo an immediate reward in order to gain a better one in the future.

The Sun is a solar-type star, a new study claims -- resolving an ongoing controversy about whether the star at the center of our Solar System exhibits the same cyclic behavior as other nearby, solar-type stars.

Researchers have identified a neural circuit in the brains of mice that plays a role in social dominance.

Basic processes in chemistry and biology involve protons in a water environment. Water structures accommodating protons and their motions have so far remained elusive. Applying ultrafast vibrational spectroscopy, researchers map fluctuating proton transfer motions and provide direct evidence that protons in liquid water are predominantly shared by two water molecules. Femtosecond proton elongations within a hydration site are 10 to 50 times faster than proton hopping to a new site, the elementary proton transfer step in chemistry.

It lurks in hospitals and nursing homes, preying upon patients already weak from disease or advanced age. It kills nearly 30,000 Americans a year, and sickens half a million more. But new research shows that Clostridium difficile bacteria can't do all this without enough of a humble nutrient: calcium. And that new knowledge may lead to better treatment for the most vulnerable patients.

Scientists have made an important step in understanding how cells keep themselves clean and healthy -- a finding that may have implications for combating neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.

The brain is the body's mission control center, sending messages to the other organs about how to respond to various external and internal stimuli. Located in the forebrain, the habenular region is one such message-conducting system. Two new papers explain how the habenulae develop and their unsuspected role in recovering from fear.

The copepod species Calanus finmarchicus schedules its day using a genetic clock that works independently of external stimuli. The clock shapes the copepod's metabolic rhythms and daily vertical migration. This in turn have an enormous influence on the entire food web in the North Atlantic, where Calanus finmarchicus is a central plankton species. Wherever the high-calorie copepod is, determines where its predator species are.

A molecular mechanism has been discovered that enables neuronal connections to change through experience, thus fueling learning and memory formation. The findings have the potential to reveal new therapeutic strategies for neurological and psychiatric disorders.

The malaria parasite's success is owed to stripping down its genome to the bare essential genes, scientists have found. In the first ever large-scale study of malaria gene function, scientists analyzed more than half of the genes in the parasite's genome and found that two thirds of these genes were essential for survival -- the largest proportion of essential genes found in any organism studied to date.

Delaying access for the tech-savvy can stifle spread of new products, experiment with students shows.

Researchers in Australia say they now know exactly what makes horny cane toads boogie. And the toad tune could help sound the death knell for the pests.

Earth's hot core, consisting mainly of iron, is responsible for the 'dynamo effect,' which creates a magnetic field. But with iron alone, this effect cannot be explained. A team of researchers has shown that the theory of the geodynamo has to be revised. It is crucial for the dynamo effect that the earth's core contains up to 20 percent nickel -- a metal, which under extreme conditions behaves quite differently from iron.

A model system has been presented by researchers that allows the investigation of atomic-scale friction effects and friction dynamics that are similar to those taking place, for instance, in proteins, DNA strands and other deformable nanocontacts. This model system consists of laser-cooled ions, which arrange themselves in so-called Coulomb crystals.