Genetics & Molecular Biology

The Role Of Mitochondria In Neurodegenerative Diseases

A longstanding question in science has the role of mitochondria in debilitating and fatal motor neuron diseases. Mitochondria are organelles – compartments contained inside cells – that serve several functions, including making ATP, a nucleotide that cell ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 19 2014 - 11:34am

Eat More Meat, Get Lower Blood Pressure?

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Article - Inside Science - Sep 22 2014 - 7:30am

How Gene Expression Affects The Facial Kind

A person's face is the first thing that others see, and much remains unknown about how it forms — or malforms — during early development. Recently, Chong Pyo Choe, a senior postdoctoral fellow working in the lab of USC stem cell researcher Gage Crump ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 22 2014 - 10:19am

Sleep Hormone In Humans Makes Plankton Jet Lagged Too

Melatonin, a hormone that governs sleep and jet lag in humans, may also drive the mass migration of plankton in the ocean, according to a report by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg.  Melatonin, is essential to m ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 27 2014 - 2:00pm

Epigenetics Of Being Without Electricity For A Few Days

Epigenetics has been used and abused in many ways- can it tell researchers that an expectant mother had no electricity for a few days? In January of 1998, what came to be called the North American Ice Storm of 1998 occurred. It knocked out power for days ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 29 2014 - 9:40am

Mutational Robustness: Why Duplicate Genes Remain In The Genome

Geneticists have found a mechanism sought for more than four decades that explains how gene duplication leads to novel functions in individuals.  Gene duplication is a biological phenomenon that leads to the sudden emergence of new genetic material. ' ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 1 2014 - 9:31am

Dwell Time As The Missing Link: Counting The Seconds For Immunological Tolerance

Our immune system must distinguish between self and foreign and in order to fight infections without damaging the body's own cells at the same time. The immune system is loyal to cells in the body, but how this works is not fully understood. A new st ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 5 2014 - 9:12am

Making Bone From Fat Cells

Our fat contains a variety of cells with the potential to become bone, cartilage, or more fat if properly prompted. This makes adipose tissue a key potential resource for regenerative therapies such as bone healing if doctors can get enough of those cells ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 6 2014 - 11:31am

29-Year 100 Billion Animal Study Reinforces Safety Of GM Foods

By Jon Entine, Genetic Literacy Project Visit almost any anti-GMO website and you will find alarming headlines about the alleged dangers of GMO foods. They kill pigs, cows and sheep on farms and in lab studies! Humans are next! ...

Article - Jon Entine - Oct 7 2014 - 11:52am

Live And Let-7: Autophagy And Cell Survival

A microRNA molecule has been tagged as a surprisingly crucial player in managing cell survival and growth. The findings underscore the emerging recognition that non-coding RNAs – small molecules that are not translated into working proteins – help regulat ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 7 2014 - 2:32pm