mothers that were heteroplasmic were shown to pass it on to their offspring, and the pattern of inheritance suggested that heteroplasmy was genome-wide (in the mitochondria) and not locus-specific. Although these findings may be taken as consistent with biparental inheritance, the fact that high levels of cytoplasmic male sterility, caused by cytonuclear interactions, are known to occur in S. vulgaris suggests that heteroplasmy may be selected for within female individuals in some populations.

At least 70 species of frogs, mostly mountain-dwellers that had nowhere to go to escape the creeping heat, have gone extinct because of climate change, the analysis says. It also reports that between 100 and 200 other cold-dependent animal species, such as penguins and polar bears are in deep trouble.

"We are finally seeing species going extinct," said University of Texas biologist Camille Parmesan, author of the study. "Now we've got the evidence. It's here. It's real. This is not just biologists' intuition. It's what's happening."

Her review of 866 scientific studies is summed up in the journal Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics.

A woman is raped every two hours and gang-raped every eight hours in Pakistan, according to the country's independent Human Rights Commission.

Elephants have been found to recognise themselves in a mirror, putting them in an exclusive club of self-awareness whose other members are great apes (including humans) and bottlenose dolphins.

Considered an indicator of self-awareness, mirror self-recognition (MSR) has long seemed limited to humans and apes. In both phylogeny and human ontogeny, MSR is thought to correlate with higher forms of empathy and altruistic behavior. Apart from humans and apes, dolphins and elephants are also known for such capacities. After the recent discovery of MSR in dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), elephants thus were the next logical candidate species. We exposed three Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) to a large mirror to investigate their responses. Animals that possess MSR typically progress through four stages of behavior when facing a mirror: (i) social responses, (ii) physical inspection (e.g., looking behind the mirror), (iii) repetitive mirror-testing behavior, and (iv) realization of seeing themselves. Visible marks and invisible sham-marks were applied to the elephants' heads to test whether they would pass the litmus "mark test" for MSR in which an individual spontaneously uses a mirror to touch an otherwise imperceptible mark on its own body. Here, we report a successful MSR elephant study and report striking parallels in the progression of responses to mirrors among apes, dolphins, and elephants. These parallels suggest convergent cognitive evolution most likely related to complex sociality and cooperation.

Two other insects have already been sequenced: the malaria-carrying mosquito Anopheles gambiae, and one of science's great model organisms, the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster. Like these, the bee is much easier to manipulate and study than, say, the monkey. But unlike the mosquito and the fruitfly, the bee's social behaviour is of special interest.

The genome is helping to reveal some of those [such as the bees' dance language and the division of labour in the hive] mechanisms. For instance, there are 65 spots in the genome that seem to code for short RNA molecules called microRNAs (miRNAs), molecular switches that can turn genes on or off. The researchers found that miRNA activity differs between bees doing different jobs.

The country's most prominent female Muslim leader, Aziza Abdel-Halim, said the hijab did not "detract or add to a person's moral standards"

The MWNNA works closely with leading progressive Muslim figures in Australia and overseas.

while an Islamic Council of Victoria spokesman, Waleed Ali, said it was "ignorant and naive" for anyone to believe that a hijab could stop sexual assault. "Anyone who is foolish enough to believe that there is a relationship between rape or unwelcome sexual interference and the failure to wear a hijab, clearly has no understanding of the nature of sexual crime," he told the Australian.

As with the first X prize, those chasing the genomics award will probably invest much more than $10 million. The true pot of gold is not cash, but publicity and a head start at grabbing a slice of a growing market.

The clinical trials could also settle the century-old debate about causality [of the deseases - MAPK].

In the eyes of the board of trustees, going coed could help stabilize the school's finances as interest in all-women schools wanes.

Enrollment this fall was about 700, down from a student body of almost 900 in the 1960s.

Across the United States, only about 60 women's colleges remain, from nearly 300 in the 1960s, according to the Women's College Coalition.

In the fall of 2000 there were 5,578,000 men and 7,377,000 women enrolled in college as undergraduates.

White LEDs could provide a sustainable, low-cost alternative to lightbulbs, especially in developing countries.

His other inventions such as blue LEDs are used in flat-screen displays, while blue lasers are already being exploited in the next generation of DVD player.

The Millennium Technology Prize is the world's largest technology award, equivalent to the Nobel Prizes for science. It recognises technological developments that have a positive impact on quality of life and sustainable development.

It is awarded every two years. The first prize, awarded in 2004, was presented to Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web.

Now we know why the surly teenager storms off in a huff after being told to tidy their bedroom.

Adolescents do not put the part of the brain that considers others' feelings to full use, scientists have found.

It seems our neural decision-making processes mature quite slowly, and researchers think this might help to explain typical teenage behaviour.