Scientists studying genetic transcription are gaining new insights into a process that is fundamental to all life. Transcription is the first step in gene expression, the process taking place within all living cells by which the DNA sequence of a gene is copied into RNA, which in turn (most generally speaking) serves as the template for assembling protein molecules, the basic building blocks of life.
Read moreThe genomes of mitochondria are usually depicted as rings or circles. But in plants, 1 ring does not rule them all. A new study of lettuce shows that the mitochondrial genome often forms branching structures with elements that can be swapped around like a chopped salad.
Read moreResearchers have disproved the prevailing theory of how DNA binds itself. It is not, as is generally believed, hydrogen bonds which bind together the 2 sides of the DNA structure. Instead, water is the key. The discovery opens doors for new understanding in research in medicine and life sciences.
Read moreA protective protein that detects newly-made incomplete protein chains in higher cells is found to have a relative in bacteria. There, the protein also plays a central role in quality control which ensures that defective proteins are degraded. The functional mechanism of these Rqc2 proteins must therefore have already existed several billion years ago in the so-called last universal common ancestor. Scientists have experimentally investigated the bacterial Rqc2 relative's function.
Read moreScientists have developed a technique to observe how radiation damages molecules over time-frames of just one quadrillionth of a second — or a femtosecond.
Read moreResearchers have made two unexpected discoveries. First, they found that, given a choice, fruit flies are drawn to green light early in the morning and late in the afternoon, when they are most active, and to red, or dim light, in midday, when like many humans, they slow down to eat and perhaps take a siesta.
Read moreNew RNA sequencing-based genetic research shows grizzlies express a larger number of genes in preparation for, and during hibernation to cope with such stressors, than do any other species studied.
Read moreResearchers explore recent efforts to use everyday materials like ice, paper, and spinach as tissue scaffolds. These unconventional materials, they argue, are more functional, more sustainable, and less expensive, as well as being available around the globe and applicable to many areas of biomedical research.
Read moreBio-engineering researchers have created a biocompatible, protein-based hydrogel that could serve as a drug delivery system durable enough to survive in the body for more than two weeks while providing sustained medication release. The research advances an area of biochemistry that is also critical to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Protein hydrogels are more biocompatible than synthetic ones and do not require potentially toxic chemical crosslinkers.
Read moreIn work suggesting new therapeutic targets to fight obesity, researchers have identified a novel mechanism that regulates the creation of fat in mammals.
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