http://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. An international team of researchers co-led by a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist has sequenced the genomes of two fungal pathogens-one that threatens global wheat supplies and another that limits production of a tree crop valued as a future source for biofuel. http://phys.org/news224175571.html Biology Mon, 09 May 2011 16:00:27 EST news224175571 The genome has yet to deliver on promises it would usher in a golden age of medicine, experts say in a debate unleashed by the looming anniversary of the first draft of the human genetic code. http://phys.org/news189318173.html Medicine & Health Thu, 01 Apr 2010 05:23:29 EST news189318173 A team of McGill Chemistry Department researchers led by Dr. Hanadi Sleiman has achieved a major breakthrough in the development of nanotubes - tiny "magic bullets" that could one day deliver drugs to specific diseased cells. Sleiman explains that the research involves taking DNA out of its biological context. So rather than being used as the genetic code for life, it becomes a kind of building block for tiny nanometre-scale objects. http://phys.org/news188057802.html Nanotechnology Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:17:28 EST news188057802 Several genes affect tooth development in the first year of life, according to the findings of a study conducted at Imperial College London, the University of Bristol in the UK and the University of Oulu in Finland. The research, published February 26 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, shows that the teeth of babies with certain genetic variants tend to appear later and that these children have a lower number of teeth by age one. Additionally, those children whose teeth develop later are more likely to need orthodontic treatment. http://phys.org/news186384913.html Medicine & Health Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:10:01 EST news186384913 Examining brain tissue from over 500 individuals in 11 countries, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and colleagues found a new risk factor for the second-most-common cause of early-onset dementia after Alzheimer's disease. http://phys.org/news185543200.html Medicine & Health Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:46:49 EST news185543200 The iguanas of the Galapagos Islands have evolved many unique characteristics due to their isolation from mainland iguanas. Because they can't swim long distances, biologists believe that the first Galapagos iguanas arrived on natural rafts made from vegetation. http://phys.org/news185462897.html Space & Earth Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:28:43 EST news185462897 Arizona State University scientists have come up with a new twist in their efforts to develop a faster and cheaper way to read the DNA genetic code. They have developed the first, versatile DNA reader that can discriminate between DNA's four core chemical components⎯the key to unlocking the vital code behind human heredity and health. http://phys.org/news185129971.html Nanotechnology Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:00:03 EST news185129971 Scientists said Tuesday they hope to collect DNA from hundreds of men surnamed Cao so they can prove a recently excavated tomb in central China belongs to the legendary warlord Cao Cao. http://phys.org/news183726069.html Other Sciences Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:01:35 EST news183726069 For the first time, researchers have shown how transmission of MRSA from one person to another can be precisely tracked in a hospital setting. The team have developed a remarkable new method that can 'zoom' from large-scale inter-continental transmission events to the much finer detail of person-to-person infection of MRSA within a single hospital. http://phys.org/news183304162.html Medicine & Health Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:00:17 EST news183304162 It is known that viral "squatters" comprise nearly half of our genetic code. These genomic invaders inserted their DNA into our own millions of years ago when they infected our ancestors. But just how we keep them quiet and prevent them from attack was more of a mystery until EPFL researchers revived them. http://phys.org/news182605058.html Biology Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:00:29 EST news182605058 New Yorkers are used to fighting each other for space, but there may be a new contender in town according to a Rockefeller study that appears to have uncovered a new species of cockroach. http://phys.org/news180844499.html Biology Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:35:24 EST news180844499 Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have determined the structures of two enzymes that customize histones, the spool-like proteins around which DNA coils inside the cell. http://phys.org/news180530290.html Biology Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:00:15 EST news180530290 Using a microscope the size of a football field, researchers from The University of Western Ontario are studying why some insects can survive freezing, while others cannot. http://phys.org/news180350816.html Biology Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:27:47 EST news180350816 Imagine a huge spool of film containing thousands of sequences of random scenes. Without a talented editor, a screening would have no meaning. http://phys.org/news180024852.html Biology Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:54:56 EST news180024852 (PhysOrg.com) -- While most school children understand that green plants photosynthesize, absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, few people consider the profound global-scale effects that photosynthesis has had on Earth. One of those actively shedding light on the origins and evolution of photosynthesis is Jeffrey Touchman, assistant professor in Arizona State University's School of Life Sciences. http://phys.org/news179776706.html Biology Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:10:02 EST news179776706 When cells are confronted with an invading virus or bacteria or exposed to an irritating chemical, they protect themselves by going off their DNA recipe and inserting the wrong amino acid into new proteins to defend them against damage, scientists have discovered. http://phys.org/news178377237.html Biology Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:14:44 EST news178377237 Scientists at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK, have shown how plants can protect themselves against genetic damage caused by environmental stresses. The growing tips of plant roots and shoots have an in-built mechanism that, if it detects damage to the DNA, causes the cell to 'commit suicide' rather than pass on its defective DNA. http://phys.org/news177609128.html Biology Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:20:01 EST news177609128 In collaboration with researchers at VIB-UGent and the University of Antwerp (Belgium), scientists at the BioScience business group of Bayer CropScience AG in Gent have developed a technology that can significantly increase crop yields as well as make them more resistant to unfavorable growing conditions. It is based on selecting plants that make more efficient use of energy. http://phys.org/news176467484.html Biology Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:00:08 EST news176467484 In research published today by Nature, an international team describes the finest map of changes to the structure of human genomes and a resource they have developed for researchers worldwide to look at the role of these changes in human disease. They also identify 75 'jumping genes' - regions of our genome that can be found in more than one location in some individuals. http://phys.org/news174140287.html Medicine & Health Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:22:35 EST news174140287 (PhysOrg.com) -- In one of the first studies of its kind, an international team of researchers has uncovered a single-letter change in the genetic code that is associated with autism. The finding, published in the October 8 issue of the journal Nature, implicates a neuronal gene not previously tied to the disorder and more broadly, underscores a role for common DNA variation. In addition, the new research highlights two other regions of the genome, which are likely to contain rare genetic differences that may also influence autism risk. http://phys.org/news174140329.html Medicine & Health Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:19:11 EST news174140329 (PhysOrg.com) -- A Florida State University College of Medicine researcher has solved a century-old mystery about proteins that play a vital role in the transfer of the human genetic code from one cell to another. The discovery could lead to finding new ways to help the body fight a variety of diseases, including cancer. http://phys.org/news174138276.html Biology Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:45:08 EST news174138276 Theresa M. Reineke, associate professor of chemistry in the College of Science, and colleagues in her lab at Virginia Tech and at the University of Cincinnati have developed a new molecule that can travel into cells, deliver genetic cargo, and packs a beacon so scientists can follow its movements in living systems. http://phys.org/news174063755.html Chemistry Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:03:10 EST news174063755 Hikers know that moss on a tree trunk always points north. According to new research by Israeli and German scientists, this ancient plant may also provide a new "compass" for stem cell research, telling scientists how better to program stem cells for medical purposes. http://phys.org/news173447854.html Biology Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:58:20 EST news173447854 Scientists have identified how a protein enables sections of so-called junk DNA to be cut and pasted within genetic code - a finding which could speed development of gene therapies. http://phys.org/news172754474.html Biology Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:21:34 EST news172754474 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have for the first time captured elusive nanoscale movements of ribosomes at work, shedding light on how these cellular factories take in genetic instructions and amino acids to churn out proteins. http://phys.org/news170004991.html Biology Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:37:33 EST news170004991 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Newcastle University are launching a ground-breaking study to find out why some of us can run faster than others - despite doing the same amount of training. http://phys.org/news169999725.html Medicine & Health Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:20:01 EST news169999725 (PhysOrg.com) -- The first few times that scientists mapped out all the DNA in a human being in 2001, each effort cost hundreds of millions of dollars and involved more than 250 people. Even last year, when the lowest reported cost was $250,000, genome sequencing still required almost 200 people. In a paper to be published online Aug. 9 by Nature Biotechnology, a Stanford University professor reports sequencing his entire genome for less than $50,000 and with a team of just two other people. http://phys.org/news169137027.html Biology Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:30:52 EST news169137027 (PhysOrg.com) -- Chemists at the University at Buffalo have used rational drug design to synthesize small, cell-permeable molecules that are effective in vitro against two common types of myotonic muscular dystrophy, a result that has implications for potentially curing muscular dystrophy, as well as other diseases. http://phys.org/news168876812.html Chemistry Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:30:01 EST news168876812 (PhysOrg.com) -- In 1953, Stanley Miller filled two flasks with chemicals assumed to be present on the primitive Earth, connected the flasks with rubber tubes and introduced some electrical sparks as a stand-in for lightning. The now famous experiment showed what amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, could easily be generated from this primordial stew. But despite that seminal experiment, neither he nor others were able to take the next step: that of showing how life’s code could come from such humble beginnings. http://phys.org/news168875229.html Biology Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:47:47 EST news168875229 (PhysOrg.com) -- The body's nanomachines that read our genes don't run as smoothly as previously thought, according to a new study by University of California, Berkeley, scientists. http://phys.org/news168182853.html Chemistry Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:29:22 EST news168182853