Genetics & Molecular Biology

Total nasal epithelial cell surface area in a mouse?

The Database of Useful Biological Numbers- great stuff, although before using any hard-to-measure number, be sure to know how the measurement was done before you trust the result. Check these out: Number of hairs in human eyebrows: 600 Respiratory cost fo ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Jun 24 2009 - 12:55pm

Who's In Your (Genetic) Network?

An interesting phenomenon in growing random networks: The number of 3-node, 3-edge connected subgraphs in a random, scale-free network of N nodes scales as N 0 (=1). No matter how big your network grows, you're going to have a roughly constant number ...

Article - Michael White - Jun 30 2009 - 3:01pm

How Proteins Bind DNA (And How Not To Model Them)

How proteins recognize specific stretches of DNA is one of the key questions of gene regulation. One would like to be able to look at the regulatory DNA sequence adjacent to a gene, and predict which regulatory proteins bind there, and control the adjacent ...

Article - Michael White - Jun 29 2009 - 4:28pm

Jurassic Bird? Extinct Giant Moa 'Rebuilt' Using Ancient DNA

Welcome back, Moa.   Scientists say they have performed the first DNA-based reconstruction of the giant extinct moa bird using prehistoric feathers recovered from caves and rock shelters in New Zealand. The researchers from the University of Adelaide and L ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 30 2009 - 8:48pm

Discovery – Mutated GPC6 Gene Key To Type Of Dwarfism

Scientists have discovered the gene behind Recessive Omodysplasia, a rare skeletal disease characterised by short-limbed dwarfism and craniofacial anomalies. The work, just published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, reports the identification on ...

Article - Catarina Amorim - Jul 8 2009 - 10:53am

A Surprise for G-Protein Coupled Receptor Aficionados

I'm a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) fan, and all of you should be too. Most drugs, from pot to tylenol, act on G-protein Coupled Receptors. The pharmaceutical industry would be helpless without them. For a quick primer on GPCRs, you can try to dec ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Jul 8 2009 - 12:47pm

Chd1 Is Key Gene In Embryonic Stem Cell Pluripotency

A gene called Chd1 has been identified in a Nature study as crucial for embryonic stem cell pluripotency- the ability to differentiate into any type of cell.  Chd1 seems to act by keeping the genetic material open and there poised to express any gene. Chd1 ...

Article - Catarina Amorim - Jul 8 2009 - 6:09pm

A Gene For The Appearance Of Aging?

Scientists in Atlantic Canada say they have found a gene that may play a role in skin aging. Researchers were investigating the genetic cause of a rare disorder known as cutis laxa type 2 (CL2), which causes skin on the hands, feet and face to be loose and ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 17 2009 - 3:44pm

FGF4, The Evolutionary Origin Of Dachshunds, And What It May Tell Us About Human Dwarfism

A single evolutionary event appears to explain the short, curved legs that characterize all of today's dachshunds, corgis, basset hounds and at least 16 other breeds of dogs. The research team led by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 17 2009 - 1:23am

An Origin Of Species Independent Of Geographical Isolation?

In the 150 years since the publication of Charles Darwin's 'Origin of Species',  despite consistent patterns of biodiversity identified over space, time, organism type and geographical region, there still remain two views of the process of & ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 2 2011 - 9:51am