Genetics & Molecular Biology

Wassup Baby Bird? The 'Casanova' Gene In Zebra Finches

You may have heard that doves mate for life but they are a rarity in bird species. In most, infidelity is a widespread phenomenon even though for females the costs are high because the cuckolded partners often reduce their parental care and extra lovers ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 15 2011 - 12:06pm

New Way To Change Genetic Code

DNA codes for proteins, and, in doing so, is responsible for many processes that take place in our bodies. An important player in the processes that turn a DNA sequence into a functional protein (see figure 1), is messenger RNA, or mRNA. A recent study, p ...

Article - Gunnar De Winter - Jun 17 2011 - 2:17am

Next-Generation Sequencing Leads To Personalized Medicine Win For Teenager

Noah and Alexis Beery were diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age 2, but knowing that was only the first step on a journey to find an answer to the children's problems. Yet a determined mother determination and the high tech world of next-generation se ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 16 2011 - 4:20pm

God changes DNA? Oh My...

This video has become quite popular recently (so if you've already seen it, my apologies). It's about a preacher who claims that (hold on to your seatbelts) becoming christian changes your DNA. Say what? Yes, you've heard that correctly. Be ...

Blog Post - Gunnar De Winter - Jun 19 2011 - 4:51am

Protein In The Human Retina Can 'Sense' Magnetic Fields

Researchers say that a protein expressed in the human retina, human cryptochrome 2 protein (hCRY2), can sense magnetic fields when implanted into D rosophila, leading to an interesting topic in sensory biology; perhaps humans have an innate magnetic sense. ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 21 2011 - 3:39pm

Treating Diabetes By Switching Genes On And Off?

A fairly new method in genetic research, known as optogenetics (selected as Method of the Year in 2010 by Nature Methods, see video for a great explanation), uses light to control gene expression. Now, researchers form EHT Zürich have engineered human cell ...

Article - Gunnar De Winter - Jun 26 2011 - 9:16am

Curing Disease Through Genome Editing

An innovative gene therapy technique, known as genome editing, ‘searches’ a specific mutated gene and fixes it. Now, for the first time, it has been shown to work in living animals. In the study, the researchers used two versions of a genetically engineer ...

Article - Gunnar De Winter - Jun 29 2011 - 6:18am

Passing On Stress

Parental stress seems to influence the progeny of organisms. For example, studies have shown that, if mice are stressed, their offspring will show signs of anxiety, even if they receive the usual levels of maternal care. Such epigenetic effects do not alt ...

Article - Gunnar De Winter - Jun 29 2011 - 7:18am

Are Republicans Against Stem Cell Research?

A Democratic president banned the use of federal money for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research, a Republican president restricted federal hESC funding to existing lines and a Democratic president continues to limit federal money for hESC research. ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Feb 24 2012 - 1:08am

Blooming Botany (3A)