(Phys.org) —Viruses are masters of minimalist design. With only a simple genome and a handful of proteins, a virus can hijack much more sophisticated cells and mimic many of the intra- and inter-cellular ...

Chemistry - Biochemistry

Jun 14, 2013 5 / 5 (1) 0 |

(Phys.org) —In a factory, outside forces dictate the assembly of parts. Robots lift widgets from trays, assemble them and send them on their way. Even though embryos are not factories, theories about embryonic ...

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

Apr 26, 2013 5 / 5 (3) 0 |

Circadian rhythms keep time for all living things, from regulating when plants open their flowers to foiling people when they try to beat jet lag. Day-night cycles are controlled through ancient biological ...

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

Apr 11, 2013 3.5 / 5 (2) 0 |

(Phys.org) —Viruses are biological pirates, invading cells and hijacking their machinery to reproduce and infect again. Research at Harvard Medical School is shedding new light on the battle line where ...

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

Mar 21, 2013 5 / 5 (4) 0 |

Vibrio cholerae, the scourge of nations lacking clean water. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the microbe that plagues people with cystic fibrosis. Acinetobacter species, opportunistic organisms that can infect vulnerable ...

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

Feb 15, 2013 5 / 5 (2) 0 |

In a study that represents a potential cultural shift in how basic science research can be conducted, researchers from Harvard Medical School, Harvard Business School and London Business School have demonstrated that a crowdsourcing ...

Other Sciences - Social Sciences

Feb 07, 2013 5 / 5 (3) 0 |

Viruses can be elusive quarry. RNA viruses are particularly adept at defeating antiviral drugs because they are so inaccurate in making copies of themselves. With at least one error in every genome they copy, viral genomes ...

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

Nov 20, 2012 not rated yet 2 |

When humans have parasites, the organisms live in our bodies, co-opt our resources and cause disease. However, it turns out that parasites themselves can have their own co-habitants.

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

Nov 07, 2012 4.3 / 5 (3) 0 |

Researchers have discovered in fruit flies a key metabolic hormone thought to be the exclusive property of vertebrates. The hormone, leptin, is a nutrient sensor, regulating energy intake and output and ultimately controlling ...

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

Sep 27, 2012 not rated yet 0

Bacteria live in a state of perpetual warfare, with different species battling for dominion over their competitors and when pathogen, over their infected host. New research suggests that the human pathogen Vibrio cholerae, which ...

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

Feb 29, 2012 5 / 5 (3) 4 |

For roughly two thousand years, Chinese herbalists have treated Malaria using a root extract, commonly known as Chang Shan, from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. More recent studies suggest that halofuginone, ...

Chemistry - Biochemistry

Feb 12, 2012 4.5 / 5 (28) 29 |

Ancient humans may not have had the luxury of updating their Facebook status, but social networks were nevertheless an essential component of their lives, a new study suggests.

Other Sciences - Social Sciences

Jan 25, 2012 4 / 5 (3) 1 |

Monty Python may claim credit for immortalizing the “silly walk,” but molecular biology beat the comedy troupe to the punch. It turns out that a tiny motor inside of us called dynein, one tasked with shuttling vital ...

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

Jan 10, 2012 5 / 5 (1) 0

Fifty years after the pioneering discovery that a protein's three-dimensional structure is determined solely by the sequence of its amino acids, an international team of researchers has taken a major step ...

Biology - Biotechnology

Dec 07, 2011 5 / 5 (17) 12 |

Researchers have built a map that shows how thousands of proteins in a fruit fly cell communicate with each other . This is the largest and most detailed protein interaction map of a multicellular organism, demonstrating ...

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

Oct 27, 2011 not rated yet 0 |