Tag: biology
X-rays size up protein structure at the ‘heart’ of COVID-19 virus
A team of researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge and Argonne national laboratories has performed the first room-temperature X-ray measurements on the...
MicroCT Reveals Detailed Head Morphology of Arthropod, Leanchoilia illecebrosa
Javier Ortega-Hernández and Yu Liu, Professor of Paleobiology, Yunnan University, China have collaborated for years in the study of Chengjiang arthropods and their evolutionary...
International team of scientists warns of increasing threats posed by invasive...
In a new study, scientists from around the world – including a professor at the University of Rhode Island – warn that the threats...
Evolutionary key for a bigger brain
The expansion of the human brain during evolution, specifically of the neocortex, is linked to our cognitive abilities such as reasoning and language. Researchers...
Study finds ‘dark matter’ DNA is vital for rice reproduction
Researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) have shed light on the reproductive role of ‘dark matter’ DNA –...
Scientists Decode How the Brain Senses Smell
Scientists have further decoded how mammalian brains perceive odors and distinguish one smell from thousands of others.
In experiments in mice, NYU Grossman School of...
Genetic variation may affect bacterial composition and healing of wounds
Genetic variability across patients might play an important role in shaping the microbiome composition of wounds, thereby influencing the healing process, according to a...
Viruses Can Steal Our Genetic Code to Create New Human-Virus Genes
Like a scene out of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” a virus infects a host and converts it into a factory for making more...
RNA structures by the thousands
Every cell contains thousands of different RNA molecules. In the past, it would have taken many research careers to decipher their structures using traditional...
Using tiny electrodes to measure electrical activity in bacteria
Scientists at LiU’s Laboratory of Organic Electronics have developed an organic transistor that they can use to measure and study in fine detail a...
New species extinction target proposed for global nature rescue plan
The upcoming future strategy for conserving biodiversity must include a prominent target to lower extinction rates, according to group including UCL scientists.
Biodiversity loss has...
Surprising growth rates found in world’s deepest photosynthetic corals
New research published in the journal Coral Reefs revealed unexpectedly high growth rates for deep water photosynthetic corals. The study, led by Samuel Kahng,...
Researchers uncover drivers of healthy gut maintenance
Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have found two genes that regulate the differentiation of stem cells in the small intestine, offering valuable insight...
Accelerating Biological Systems Design for Sustainable Biomanufacturing
Northwestern Engineering synthetic biologists have developed a new rapid-prototyping system to accelerate the design of biological systems, reducing the time to produce sustainable biomanufacturing...
Improved gut microbiota with cholesterol-lowering medication
There is a clear link between improved gut microbiota and one of our most common cholesterol-lowering drug groups: statins. This is evident from a...
Brain Cells Can Harbor and Spread HIV Virus to the Body
Researchers have found that astrocytes, a type of brain cell, can harbor HIV and then spread the virus to immune cells that traffic out...
Immune cell discovery could improve the fight against hepatitis B
For the first time, researchers at The Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR) have identified and described a new and unique subset of human...
Virus DNA spread across hospital ward in 10 hours
The study, published as a letter in the Journal of Hospital Infection, aimed to safely simulate how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, may...
Newly Identified Gene Reduces Pollen Number of Plants
Producing fewer sperm cells can be advantageous in self-fertilizing plants. An international study led by the University of Zurich has identified a gene in...
A team develops ‘poisoned arrow’ to defeat antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Poison is lethal all on its own — as are arrows — but their combination is greater than the sum of their parts. A...
A key step in the molecular mechanism behind the water splitting...
Using a unique combination of nanoscale imaging and chemical analysis, an international team of researchers has revealed a key step in the molecular mechanism...
A new hybrid fungus is found in hospitals and linked to...
From the mythical minotaur to the mule, creatures created from merging two or more distinct organisms – hybrids – have played defining roles in...
Synthetic red blood cells mimic natural ones, and have new abilities
Scientists have tried to develop synthetic red blood cells that mimic the favorable properties of natural ones, such as flexibility, oxygen transport and long...
Odds of edible insects transmitting coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is negligible
The odds of insects that are produced for food or feed transmitting COVID-19 is negligible. That is the conclusion drawn by a team of...
Small Arctic coastal waterbodies, with big carbon release
Arctic coastal watersheds are some of the most threatened regions on Earth, having undergone substantial climatic, physical and biological changes with the warming of...
Researchers develop biotechnological production process
Plants produce the hormone jasmonic acid as a defence response when challenged. This is how they ensure that their predators no longer like the...
Automatic tabletop machine speed up novel drug development
Many proteins are useful as drugs for disorders such as diabetes, cancer, and arthritis. Synthesizing artificial versions of these proteins is a time-consuming process...
Sea snakes first entered the marine environment 15 million years ago
Sea snakes first entered the marine environment 15 million years ago and have been evolving ever since to survive in its changing light conditions,...
New Method Allows Minimally Invasive Cell Sampling
At any given moment, a variety of dynamic processes occur inside a cell, with many developing over time. Because current research methods for gene...
Exchange of Arms between Chromosomes Using Molecular Scissors
The CRISPR/Cas molecular scissors work like a fine surgical instrument and can be used to modify genetic information in plants. The research teams of...