Washington, September 26 : Scientists have identified an important molecule that helps the zebrafish develop one of its four stripes of pigment cells.

The researchers said that that their study focused on a particular zebrafish mutant called choker, which is distinctive because one of the four stripes running down its side is missing, and it has a dark collar around its neck instead.

Washington, Sept 26 : Computer scientists of Carnegie Mellon University have developed an interactive, online game featuring a little fish named Phil that can teach people how to better recognize and avoid email "phishing" and other Internet scams.

Washington, Sept 26 : Birds that hang out in large urban areas have adapted to survive in a much larger range of conditions than their rural counterparts, a new study by researchers from the University of Washington has found.

And not only do they survive, but as the researchers found out, they also thrive.

This, the researchers say, is a sign that urban birds have developed coping mechanisms that rural birds might not have.

Washington, Sept 26 : Modern humans still retain caveman’s survival instincts at spotting predators and prey, despite living in the comforts of modern homes in urban localities, according to a new study published online in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The study reveals that humans today are hard-wired to pay attention to other people and animals much more than non-living things, even if inanimate objects are the primary hazards for modern, urbanized folks.

Washington, Sept 26 : A WWF expedition has uncovered 11 new plant and animal species in a remote area in central Vietnam.

Scientists said the discovery underscored the importance of conservation efforts in the ancient tropical forests of the region.

The biologists found a snake, five orchids, two butterflies and three other plants new to science and exclusive to the Annamites Mountain Range within the forest region, known as “Green Corridor”.

London, Sept 26 : Oceans on Earth were ‘home-grown’ and formed because the young planet had a thick blanket of hydrogen, which reacted with oxides in the mantle to form lakes and seas, Japanese planetary scientists have said.

The dominant view has been that Earth got its share of water from moisture-rich asteroids and comets that rained down on the planet during its formative years.