Genetics & Molecular Biology

Weekend Science: Coffee Drinker? Maybe You Hit The Genetic Powerball

A recent genome-wide meta-analysis has identified a biological commonality among 120,000 regular coffee drinkers- 6 new genetic variants related to caffeine metabolism, lipid and glucose metabolism, and its psychoactive effects, found among about 2.5 milli ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Oct 11 2014 - 10:30am

Synthetic Biology: GMOs Without The Cultural Drama

Credit: Shutterstock One thing certain about nature- it sure isn't efficient. Just take a look at the human male reproductive system and you get the idea that if it was designed, it was designed by fish, and on a dare. It is a problem waiting to happ ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Oct 9 2014 - 10:12am

Antioxidants Of Wild Tomato Species Get Studied

Tomatoes contain antioxidants such as vitamin C, lycopene, β-carotene, and phenolics. Antioxidants are substances capable of delaying or inhibiting oxidation processes caused by free radicals and are of interest to both consumers and plant biologists. Con ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 10 2014 - 8:30am

Brown Is Beautiful: How The Brain Transforms White Fat To Control Eating

Researchers have uncovered a molecular process in the brain known to control eating that transforms white fat into brown fat, and that impacts how much energy we burn and how much weight we can lose.   ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 11 2014 - 1:32pm

How Cholesterol Is Made

Cholesterol has gotten a bad reputation, thanks to mainstream media's penchant for alternating miracle vegetables with scare journalism, which prompts shady diet fad book authors to promote whatever is getting attention this year. Outside health fads ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 13 2014 - 8:00am

Legal War Over New GMO Weed Killer System Commences As NRDC Sues To Block Enlist Duo

The Natural Resources Defense Council became the first environmental group to   file suit   ...

Article - Jon Entine - Oct 17 2014 - 1:15pm

Psoriasis And Hypertension Correlated

Patients with severe psoriasis are more likely to have uncontrolled hypertension, according to a cross-sectional study using information collected from a medical records database, which the authors say provides further evidence of a strong link between ps ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 16 2014 - 7:00am

Not All Fat Is Equal: Amping Up Adenosine May Melt 'Love Handles'

Obesity was once only for the wealthy, then it was only for Americans and the science engine that made food cheap for all, but now globalization has made it possible for the rich and poor worldwide to be fat- which brings greater risk of suffering a heart ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 19 2014 - 10:15am

Sperm Wars In The Fight For Promiscuity

It sounds a little trampy to humans but in nature, it's not unusual for a female to copulate with several males in quick succession. Chimpanzees are a well-known example.   When that happens, sperm war breaks out. "The sperm of the different male ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 16 2014 - 3:39pm

Biological Clock: Graveyard Shift Workers Might Want To Skip High-Iron Foods

Disrupted circadian clocks are listed as a possible reason that shift workers experience higher incidences of type 2 diabetes, obesity and cancer. The body's primary circadian clock, which regulates sleep and eating, is in the brain, but other body t ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 21 2014 - 5:00pm