Over the past decade, the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system has revolutionized genetic engineering, allowing scientists to make targeted changes to organisms' DNA. While the system could potentially be useful in treating a variety of...
A team of researchers from a number of institutions in the U.S. has identified a DNA methylation regulator called QSER1. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes studying the valleys of unmethylated DNA and...
Scientists at the University of Oldenburg's Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) have scored a success: in the aquariums at the ICBM's Wilhelmshaven site they were able to induce sexual reproduction in...
In “Second Nature,” Nathaniel Rich offers a tour of the ways humans have both conquered the natural world and been overwhelmed by the unintended consequences.
New research has uncovered a surprising role for so-called 'jumping' genes that are a source of genetic mutations responsible for a number of human diseases. Scientists made the unexpected discovery that these DNA sequences, also known...
Research has revealed that a group of microbes found deep underground in three continents have been at an evolutionary standstill for millions of years. The discovery could have significant implications for biotechnology applications and...
LTR retrotransposons are small stretches of DNA that can move around the genome. Researchers figured out how cells keep these 'jumping genes' anchored, preventing them from landing in the wrong place.
The full assembly of human chromosome 8 is reported this week in Nature. While on the outside this chromosome looks typical, being neither short nor long or distinctive, its DNA content and arrangement are of interest in primate and...
Researchers have discovered that by changing two components of the media used to culture the cells, they can make liver cancer cells behave more like normal liver cells. Rather than using standard serum containing glucose, they used...
By using their knowledge of how bacteria co-exist and compete with one another in nature, Western University researchers have discovered a compound that can inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, a deadly bacterium that can cause...
You pour a scoop of ditch water in the DNA scanner, and voilà: you know exactly which plants and animals the ditch accommodates. Well, it is not that simple yet, but according to Ph.D. candidate Kevin Beentjes, we can already use DNA...
Single-cell transcriptomic methods allow scientists to study thousands of individual cells from living organisms, one-by-one, and sequence each cell's genetic material. Genes are activated differently in each cell type, giving rise to...
In an article published in the April 8 issue of Nature, the National Institutes of Health's Somatic Cell Gene Editing Consortium provided a detailed update on the progress of their nationwide effort to develop safer and more effective...
The hormone auxin is of central importance for the development of plants. Scientists at the University of Bayreuth and the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen have now developed a novel sensor that makes the...
The hormone auxin is of central importance for the development of plants. Scientists have now developed a novel sensor that makes the spatial distribution of auxin in the cells of living plants visible in real time. The sensor opens up...
Developmental biologists have discovered that during egg development in fruit flies, intercellular gaps open between epithelial cells in a controlled way at the points where three cells meet. This process allows yolk proteins to be...
As the number of weed populations resistant to multiple herbicides continues to soar, it is clear that better tools are needed to help growers rapidly diagnose resistance issues. With more timely access to information, they can take...
Stem rust is a devastating disease of cereal crops, including barley, one of the first domesticated crops in agriculture and the fourth most widely grown crop in the world. Barley is unique because it is one of only a few crops that can...
Eucalyptus, a pest-resistant evergreen valued for its hardy lumber and wellness-promoting oil, can be genetically modified not to reproduce sexually, a key step toward preventing the global tree plantation staple from invading native...
Imagine there are arrows that are lethal when fired on your enemies yet harmless if they fall on your friends. It's easy to see how these would be an amazing advantage in warfare, if they were real. Well, something just like these arrows...
Eucalyptus, a pest-resistant evergreen valued for its hardy lumber and wellness-promoting oil, can be genetically modified not to reproduce sexually, a key step toward preventing the global tree plantation staple from invading native...
The adage goes, "Two is better than one." Well, that might be true for endeavors involving human heads, but when it comes to ears, hybrid maize tends to have a superior advantage over the parental stocks in most cases. This phenomenon,...
Biophysicists have shown that a phenomenon known as diffusiophoresis, which can lead to a directed particle transport, can occur in biological systems.