Genetics & Molecular Biology

The body contains two types of fat cells, white and brown. White fat serves to store excess calories until they're needed by the body while brown adipocytes actually burn fat by turning it into heat. Ever since it was discovered that adult humans har ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 4 2014 - 5:00am

CHD8 Gene Mutation Linked To Autism

Researchers from 13 institutions would worldwide believe they have made a breakthrough in understanding what causes autism- a clear cut case of an autism specific gene. An analysis of 6,176 children with autism spectrum disorder, researchers found 15 ha ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 5 2014 - 8:46am

Gene Enables Stem Cells To Regenerate A Decapitated Head

Researchers have announced the discovery of a gene, zic-1, that enables stem cells to regrow a head after decapitation in flatworm planarians. ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 3 2014 - 7:30pm

Breakthrough Discovery In Living Cell Signaling

A breakthrough discovery into how living cells process and respond to chemical information could help advance the development of treatments for a large number of cancers and resistant to therapy. Researchers have unlocked the secret behind the activation ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 5 2014 - 8:53pm

The Ancient Chemical Secret That Allowed Maize To Defend Itself

Many ancient plants weren't pretty, they didn't taste good, and they weren't big- but they could defend themselves. As food science progressed, numerous plants were genetically optimized for better flavor and yield, but some lost their abil ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 4 2014 - 4:00am

Pluripotency Factor Gene NANOG Is Not Just For Embryonic Stem Cells

New research has discovered that NANOG, an essential gene for embryonic stem cells, also regulates cell division in stratified epithelia, which form part of the epidermis of the skin or cover the oesophagus or the vagina in developed organisms. This facto ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 9 2014 - 4:01pm

Genetically Modified Stem Cells Don't Increase Mutations

The ability to switch out one gene for another in living stem cells puts us on the path to a science fiction future- fixing disease-causing genes in humans. But there are concerns about mutations. However, a new study has found that using gene-editing te ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 9 2014 - 6:30pm

Epigenetics: Inherited 'Memory' Of Environment Is Overhyped

In recent years, biology has been thrown around like a football. Activists in numerous areas invoke it- those against food science say scientists are tinkerers with no expertise while those against pesticides claim that the biology clearly shows what your ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 10 2014 - 10:01pm

Ferryl Heme: A Biological Mystery Solved

By identifying the molecular structure of a vital biological chemical, researchers may have solved a long-standing debate. The controversy is about a form of enzyme called a heme (or haem, as in haemoglobin) at the center of which is an iron atom (Fe) ca ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 11 2014 - 12:30am

Drawing Stem Cells Out Of Their Niche

Since stem cell research became common 50 years ago, scientists have been trying to unravel mechanisms that guide function and differentiation of blood stem cells, those cells that generate all blood cells including our immune system. Study of human blood ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 12 2014 - 12:44pm