Genetics & Molecular Biology

This ATM isn't for dispensing money-- it's for repairing DNA

(based on So, S., et al. "Autophosphorylation at serine 1981 stabilizes ATM at DNA damage sites." Journal of Cell Biology, early release- published December 21, 2009, 10.1083/jcb.200906064) ...

Blog Post - Aubrey Chen - Dec 24 2009 - 5:32pm

Killing For Living; A Magnificent Selfish Act

The autotrophic cell is the one who is able to produce, by it self, its own energy and structural components. It corresponds, in the natural world to the vegetable cell. We call to this process photosynthesis and the wonderful-and truly amazing feature- o ...

Article - Arturo Pèrez-Arteaga - May 11 2010 - 5:38pm

Modeling in Biomedicine Meeting

Getting back on my feet after the holiday rush and the expansion of our family: A meeting was held in mid-December to examine "The Impact of Modeling on Biomedical Research." This was held under the umbrella of the IMAG and the MSM Consortium. Th ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Jan 4 2010 - 5:44pm

'Junk' DNA Could Help Diagnose Cancer

According to a new study published in this month's Genomics journal, so called 'junk' DNA may  help doctors diagnose breast and bowel cancer. Researchers from the University of Nottingham discovered that a group of genetic rogue elements--ca ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 5 2010 - 2:04pm

Energy Inefficiency: The Key To Overcoming Obesity

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic and the University of Iowa say that the key to bringing obesity under control is to make our muscle a little less efficient and they may have found a way to do it. In a new study in the January issue of Cell Metabolism, the ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 5 2010 - 3:09pm

Lean Bacon And A Domesticated DNA Parasite

Here is a molecular biology discovery that we can chalk up to our increasing love of lean bacon: "ZBED6, a Novel Transcription Factor Derived from a Domesticated DNA Transposon Regulates IGF2 Expression and Muscle Growth", in PLoS Biology. If yo ...

Article - Michael White - Jan 7 2010 - 5:44pm

Calcium's Role In Taste Perception

Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that calcium channels on the tongue are the targets of compounds that can enhance taste. In addition to molecules that directly trigger specific taste buds (salty, sweet etc.), there are other substances whi ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 8 2010 - 1:12pm

Biological Engineering- Present and Future

The latest issue of Cell has some goodies on synthetic and systems biology: "Engineering Static and Dynamic Control of Synthetic Pathways, by William Holtz and Jay Keasling: Maximizing the production of a desired small molecule is one of the primary g ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Jan 8 2010 - 5:16pm

Do Our Genes Explain Why We Take Financial Risks?

Why are some people willing to take risks by gambling on "longshot" payoffs while, on the other hand, taking the opposite tack by buying insurance to reduce their risks? An international team of economists and molecular geneticists says the answe ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 11 2010 - 12:30pm

Alda-1 Repairs Defective Alcohol Metabolism Enzyme

A molecule called Alda-1 can repair Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), an often defective alcohol metabolism enzyme that affects an estimated 1 billion people worldwide, according to research published Jan. 10 in the advance online edition of Nature Structu ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 11 2010 - 1:47pm