Genetics & Molecular Biology

How To Follow A Bacterial Infection- In Real Time

Scientists in Portugal and France managed to follow the patterns of gene expression in food-poisoning bacteria Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) live during infection for the first time. The work about to be published in PLoS Pathogens shows how th ...

Article - Catarina Amorim - May 31 2009 - 6:53pm

Programming Stem Cells With Chemicals

One of the biggest recent breakthroughs in stem cell research is the ability to reprogram non-stem cells into stem cells using genetic engineering. The hitch with this technique is that genetic engineering like this can have side effects: stem cells produc ...

Article - Michael White - Jun 3 2009 - 2:18pm

Molecular Basis For Clotting- A 'Bloodcurdling' Mystery Gets Solved

Using single-molecule manipulation, researchers at Harvard University say they have uncovered a fundamental feedback mechanism that the body uses in regulating the clotting of blood. A new physical, quantitative, and predictive model of how the body works ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 4 2009 - 1:45pm

MAOA- If You Have This Gene, You're More Likely To Join A Gang?

Boys who carry a particular variation of the gene Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), called the 'warrior' gene by some, are more likely to join gangs and be among their most violent members, according to a study from a Florida State University criminolo ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 5 2009 - 3:41pm

Foxy lady, I love you long time

I'm mixing my movie references with the headline, perhaps, but it's honestly the first thing that popped into my head when I read about a worm helping scientists understand longevity. Perhaps an explanation is in order. Nicholas Wade writes in th ...

Blog Post - Becky Jungbauer - Jun 12 2009 - 1:47pm

The Eternal Youth Gene

You age. As you age, your cells age. Your telomeres wear out. Even single-celled yeast age, giving birth to only a limited number of daughter cells. So how is it that each new generation starts fresh, unaged? This is a great mystery- part of which is expl ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Jun 12 2009 - 9:10pm

REST Protein Sheds Light On Gene Evolutionary Process, Says Study

Darwin knew that some mechanism had to govern how our physical features and behavioral traits have evolved over centuries, passing from a parent to their offspring with natural selection favoring those that give the greatest advantage for survival, but he ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 15 2009 - 10:03am

Singing Genitalia? Exploding Sex Organs? Postcopulatory Sexual Selection And What Darwin Missed

Darwin didn't miss much, I think we all agree, and came up with a lot given the limited science of his day.   One thing he missed, that by this time tomorrow will be the source of outrageous titles from every schlock science publication in existence, ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Jun 16 2009 - 8:44pm

Protein Cryptography And The Cell's Public Transportation System

It's easy to get lost in a eukaryotic cell. Proteins need to be in the right place at the right time to carry out their functions, but the cell is a crowded place, and the layout isn't exactly simple. Fortunately, the cell has a fairly sophistic ...

Article - Michael White - Jun 17 2009 - 4:50pm

DNA Is Like Your Phone Line

DNA is like your phone line. As Northwestern University biophysicist Johnathan Widom put it in a talk recently, DNA simultaneously encodes multiple overlapping signals, just like your phone line that allows you to call home while you're surfing the ne ...

Article - Michael White - Jun 22 2009 - 4:57pm