Scientists have discovered the primary mechanism by which thalidomide causes malformed limbs in developing embryos.
This side-effect was recognised after thousands of affected children were born to mothers who had been prescribed the drug for morning sickness.
Research in the journal Science reveals that thalidomide binds to and renders inactive the protein cereblon, which is very [...]
By Huw WilliamsBBC Scotland reporter
Researchers say they’ve solved the mystery of why some chickens hatch out half male and half female.
About one in every 10, 000 chickens is gynandromorphous, to use the technical term.
In medieval times they might have been burned at the stake, as witches familiars.
But now these chickens are shedding important new [...]
Water has been rapidly disappearing in Cyprus since the 1970s, but conflict between Turkish and Greek communities means fixing the problem is not high on the political agenda. The BBC’s Alex Bell finds that Cypriots are now struggling for control of land that is slowly dying.
Here is a story: an old man from the Troodos [...]
By Mark WardTechnology correspondent, BBC News
Picking a cauliflower seems a very easy task, at least to anyone who has only ever encountered the brassica on a plate accompanied by meat and another vegetables.
But knowing the right moment to pick a cauliflower is tricky. Harvest it too soon or too late and supermarket chains might reject [...]
There has been protest in Japan over a proposed ban on international trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna, a day after the European Union agreed to back the plan.
Wholesalers held a protest at Tokyo’s fish market, while a top official said Japan was likely to opt out of the ban.
The EU agreed on Wednesday to [...]