https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. A newly discovered promoter element "start" points to a shared regulatory syntax for controlling transcription initiation in bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-ancient-genetic-bacteria-archaea-eukaryotes.html Evolution Mon, 15 Dec 2025 16:56:14 EST news685040161 Signals from the environment set off a cascade of changes that affect different genes in different ways. Therefore, traditionally, it has been difficult to study how such signals influence an organism. In a new study, researchers have developed a machine-learning approach called FUN-PROSE to predict how genes react to different environmental conditions. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-response-fungal-genes-machine-learning-approach.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 20 Nov 2023 13:08:04 EST news619708081 The intricate interplay of gene expression within living cells is akin to a well-orchestrated symphony, with each gene playing its part in perfect harmony to ensure cells function as they should. At the heart of this symphony are transcription factors (TFs), molecular maestros that regulate the expression of genes by binding to specific DNA sequences known as promoters. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-synthetic-biology-tool-comprehensively-reveals.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 19 Sep 2023 17:31:04 EDT news614363461 A Purdue University research team has revealed complex new details about the function of a key protein shared by mammals, including humans. Many cancers result when this DNA methyltransferase protein goes awry. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-critical-molecular-stages-mammalian.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 23 Aug 2023 11:48:50 EDT news612010125 Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have successfully used a cell's natural process for making proteins to "slide" genetic instructions into a cell and produce critical proteins missing from those cells. If further studies verify their proof-of-concept results, the scientists may have a new method for targeting specific cell types for a variety of disorders that could be treated with gene therapies. Such disorders include neurodegenerative diseases that affect the brain, including Alzheimer's disease, forms of blindness and some cancers. https://phys.org/news/2022-10-proof-of-concept-advances-potential-gene-therapy.html Biotechnology Thu, 27 Oct 2022 14:36:04 EDT news586100161 Researchers, led by experts at Imperial College London, have developed a new method that allows gene expression to be precisely altered by supplying and removing electrons. https://phys.org/news/2022-05-scientists-tools-electronically-gene.html Biotechnology Wed, 04 May 2022 14:00:06 EDT news570870095 Corn—or maize—has changed over thousands of years from weedy plants that make ears with less than a dozen kernels to the cobs packed with hundreds of juicy kernels that we see on farms today. Powerful DNA-editing techniques such as CRISPR can speed up that process. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Professor David Jackson and his postdoctoral fellow Lei Liu collaborated with University of Massachusetts Amherst Associate Professor Madelaine Bartlett to use this highly specific technique to tinker with corn kernel numbers. Jackson's lab is one of the first to apply CRISPR to corn's very complex genome. https://phys.org/news/2021-02-tweaking-corn-kernels-crispr.html Biotechnology Mon, 22 Feb 2021 11:00:03 EST news533204776 Sometimes, unexpected research results are simply due to experimental error. Other times, it's the opposite—the scientists have uncovered a new phenomenon that reveals an even more accurate portrayal of our bodies and our universe, overturning well-established assumptions. Indeed, many great biological discoveries are made when results defy expectation. https://phys.org/news/2019-12-gene.html Biotechnology Tue, 10 Dec 2019 08:21:14 EST news495188470 A team of biologists has discovered how cells become different from each other during embryogenesis, a finding that offers new insights into genetic activity and has implications for better understanding the onset of disease and birth defects. https://phys.org/news/2019-08-scientists-uncover-intricacies-onoff-cell.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 08 Aug 2019 13:38:47 EDT news484490308 IMP scientists from the lab of Alexander Stark show why certain activators—enhancers or cofactor proteins—activate specific promoters. The findings, which are now reported in the journal Nature, could have implications for gene therapies. https://phys.org/news/2019-05-gene-scientists-basis-regulatory-specificity.html Biotechnology Thu, 16 May 2019 07:57:49 EDT news477212085 It was long thought that DNA, together with the genes encoded in it, determined genetic destiny. But equally important is coordinating when genes are turned on and off. In fact, the regulation of gene expression defines life by allowing organisms to react to their surroundings rather than being static automatons. As even the smallest organisms like bacteria have many genes, coordinating their expression is done by a dedicated set of proteins, which bind specific sites in the DNA (called 'promoters') in order to turn genes on or off. Each such pairing between a protein and its associated promoter constitutes one of many connections in the organismal gene regulatory network. Gene regulatory networks are intricately tuned, so how can they evolve and change? https://phys.org/news/2018-09-evolve-robust.html Evolution Tue, 11 Sep 2018 07:23:29 EDT news455869404 While aging is familiar to all of us, exactly how it occurs on a molecular basis has been an area of intense study and interest. We take it for granted that different species age at different rates, yet we do not have a good understanding of why and how. Most mammals have similar numbers of genes, many of which show conserved function, yet there are several orders of magnitude differences in lifespan across mammals. For instance, mice and small animals live shorter lifespans, yet other animals such as bats, naked mole rats, whales, elephants and primates age significantly slower. https://phys.org/news/2018-04-genes-unrecognized-role-aging-intervention.html Biotechnology Mon, 30 Apr 2018 08:53:59 EDT news444297225 Rice University scientists have created a toolkit for synthetic biologists who need to precisely tune the input and output levels of genetic circuits. https://phys.org/news/2018-01-biologists-toolkit-tuning-genetic-circuits.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 11 Jan 2018 09:10:47 EST news434884235 A team of University of Delaware researchers is opening wider the door for those who study the vast world of microbes. A paper published in Nature Communications on May 6 describes a new technique they developed for examining how bacterial genes function.  https://phys.org/news/2015-05-technique-uncover-functions-microbial-genomes.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 07 May 2015 08:33:54 EDT news350206426 Duke researchers have developed a new method to precisely control when genes are turned on and active. https://phys.org/news/2015-04-genetic-puppetmasters-gain-gene.html Biotechnology Mon, 06 Apr 2015 11:00:01 EDT news347535983 When egg and sperm combine, the new embryo bustles with activity. Its cells multiply so rapidly they largely ignore their DNA, other than to copy it and to read just a few essential genes. The embryonic cells mainly rely on molecular instructions placed in the egg by its mother in the form of RNA. https://phys.org/news/2013-08-dna-sequences-genesat-fruit-fliescontain.html Biotechnology Tue, 13 Aug 2013 13:14:00 EDT news295618408 Whitehead Institute researchers have determined that DNA transcription, the process that produces messenger RNA (mRNA) templates used in protein production, also runs in the opposite direction along the DNA to create corresponding long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). Moreover, the mRNAs and lncRNAs are transcribed coordinately as stem cells differentiate into other cell types. This surprising finding could redefine our understanding of gene organization and its regulation. https://phys.org/news/2013-02-paired-genes-stem-cells-gene.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:00:14 EST news279197366 (Phys.org)—In certain toy racecar tracks, sneaky players can flip a switch, trapping their opponents' vehicles in a loop of track. Cells employ a less subtle approach: they change the track's layout. In a study published online today in Science, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and Oxford University discovered that, by forming or undoing gene loops, cells manipulate the path of the transcription machinery – which reads out instructions from DNA – controlling whether it moves along the genetic material in one direction or two. https://phys.org/news/2012-09-loop-dna-style-one-two-way.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 28 Sep 2012 11:18:01 EDT news268049867 In exploring how proteins interact with crucial DNA sequences to regulate gene activity, researchers have shed light on key biological events that may eventually be manipulated to provide new disease treatments. https://phys.org/news/2012-06-chromatin-loops-genes-future-treatments.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 07 Jun 2012 12:02:44 EDT news258289351 (PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers has made a major advance toward producing induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, that are safe enough to use in treating diseases in patients. https://phys.org/news/2009-10-team-major-cell-reprogramming.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:10:01 EDT news174235034