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. Scientists in the laboratory of Rendong Yang, Ph.D., associate professor of Urology, have developed a new large language model that can interpret transcriptomic data in cancer cell lines more accurately than conventional approaches, as detailed in a recent study published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-deepchopper-rna-sequencing-mitigating-chimera.html Biotechnology Mon, 09 Feb 2026 16:00:01 EST news689870092 In a recent study, researchers at the Texas A&M University Health Science Center (Texas A&M Health) identify a novel RNA molecule that plays a crucial role in preserving the integrity of a key cellular structure, the nucleolus . Their findings also suggest this molecule may influence patient survival in certain blood cancers. The work is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-newly-rna-molecule-cancer-patient.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 02 Feb 2026 16:46:23 EST news689273162 Scientists have uncovered a 400-million-year-old genetic secret that gave spiders the ability to produce silk and weave their webs. Spiders didn't begin their journey on Earth in the same way as they are known today. Arthropods such as our eight-legged weaver owe much of their evolutionary success to the slow, repeated modification of appendages. One of the crucial changes that allowed spiders to survive and diversify into more than 53,000 species was the spinnerets, a silk-spinning organ found on the underside of a spider's abdomen. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-spider-spinneret-evolution-genome-duplication.html Evolution Fri, 30 Jan 2026 11:40:01 EST news688994658 Humans have it. So does Drosophila. But not yeast. That "it" is a small pause at the start of gene activity—a brief molecular halt that may have helped life evolve from simple cells to complex animals. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-small-genetic-complex-life-evolve.html Evolution Fri, 19 Dec 2025 13:13:16 EST news685372381 Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered how molecular "traffic controllers" in cells influence aging and cellular senescence—a state where cells stop dividing but remain metabolically active. The study, published in Molecular Cell, sheds light on the process of transcribing DNA into RNA, a critical step in gene expression, and how it is tightly regulated and connected to age-related changes. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-exploring-gene-aging.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 19 Dec 2025 11:46:27 EST news685367161 An innovative three-color method for capturing images of mRNA inside live mammalian cells has been developed by UMass Amherst chemists. Because RNA is both incredibly important to human life and health and poorly understood, the ability to tag disparate RNA with different colors and watch them, in real time, as they do their work is a giant step forward in understanding one of life's basic building blocks. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-chemists-unique-tool-rna-cells.html Biochemistry Wed, 17 Dec 2025 05:00:03 EST news685099655 A research team led by Prof. Sun Chaomin from the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS) has unveiled the crucial role of viruses in deep-sea carbon cycling and microbial community structure. Their findings are published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-viruses-carbon-deep-sea-ecosystems.html Ecology Tue, 09 Dec 2025 14:26:37 EST news684512761 Scientists have discovered a method of helping human stem cells thrive in an animal embryo—a key development in efforts to grow human organs in animals for medical transplants. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-human-medical-implants-method-stem.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 25 Nov 2025 12:44:32 EST news683297055 A collaborative study by scientists at the University of California, Riverside, and University of Southern California reports on how a process known as alternative splicing, often described as "editing" the genetic recipe, may help explain why some mammals live far longer than others. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-rna-clues-animals-longer.html Plants & Animals Mon, 24 Nov 2025 15:26:03 EST news683220361 Researchers from Stockholm University have—for the first time ever—managed to successfully isolate and sequence RNA molecules from Ice Age woolly mammoths. These RNA sequences are the oldest ever recovered and come from mammoth tissue preserved in the Siberian permafrost for nearly 40,000 years. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-world-oldest-rna-woolly-mammoth.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 14 Nov 2025 11:00:05 EST news682237840 A research team at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology has successfully combined single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and single-cell mass spectrometry (scMS) analysis on the same plant cell. This new approach allows researchers to directly correlate, at the cellular level, the expression of genes involved in producing natural products of interest with their occurrence and abundance. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-gene-metabolite-production-cells.html Plants & Animals Mon, 27 Oct 2025 12:41:04 EDT news680787661 Ants have evolved an acute sense of smell, which requires each sensory neuron to choose one scent receptor out of hundreds. In a new study published in Nature, researchers at New York University have discovered what ants use to solve this biological puzzle: a self-regulating system in which choosing one gene physically silences all its neighbors. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-ants-genetic-bulldozer-hyper-specific.html Evolution Wed, 22 Oct 2025 11:00:01 EDT news680343781 For decades, gene-editing science has been limited to making small, precise edits to human DNA, akin to correcting typos in the genetic code. Arc Institute researchers are changing that paradigm with a universal gene editing system that allows for cutting and pasting of entire genomic paragraphs, rearranging whole chapters, and even restructuring entire passages of the genomic manuscript. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-bridge-recombinases-optimized-human-cells.html Biotechnology Thu, 25 Sep 2025 14:00:01 EDT news678012320 New research is shining a light on one of genetics' enduring puzzles—how the workings of the so-called "selfish gene" could be harnessed to control harmful insect populations. By understanding the molecular basis of a selfish gene and the way it operates, scientists believe they could identify novel methods to control certain insects that are globally significant pests and disease carriers. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-harnessing-selfish-gene-insect-populations.html Plants & Animals Thu, 18 Sep 2025 16:04:59 EDT news677430295 The world of cells is surprisingly noisy. Each cell carries unique genetic information, but when we try to measure cellular activity, signals can be lost or blurred, and differences between experiments can further obscure the data. These challenges have made it difficult for researchers to capture the true behavior of cells, especially when studying rare cell types or subtle changes that appear in the early stages of disease. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-method-noise-clarity-cell-analysis.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 18 Sep 2025 13:12:56 EDT news677419971 Essentially all cells in an organism's body have the same genetic blueprint, or genome, but the set of genes that are actively expressed at any given time in a cell determines what type of cell it will be and its function. How rapidly gene expression in a single cell changes over time can provide insight into how cells might become more specialized, but current measurement approaches are limited. A new method developed by researchers at Penn State and Yale University incorporates spatial information from the cell as well as data from cells processed at different times, improving researchers' ability to understand the nuances of gene expression changes. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-method-tracks-gene-reveal-cell.html Molecular & Computational biology Sat, 06 Sep 2025 09:52:46 EDT news676371155 A study from Würzburg reveals that pox viruses have developed a unique strategy to rapidly multiply after infecting a host cell. The findings uncover a previously unknown role for a well-known molecule and may serve as a starting point for the development of new antiviral agents. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-previously-unknown-rna-chaperone-key.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 04 Sep 2025 16:58:05 EDT news676223881 We mapped the human genome decades ago, but most of it is still a black box. Now, UNSW scientists have developed a tool to peer inside and what they find could reshape how we think about disease. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-ai-tool-rna-unravel-secrets.html Biotechnology Fri, 29 Aug 2025 12:17:44 EDT news675688658 Serving as the representative plant species in most plant research across the last half century, Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress) has revealed how plants respond to light, which hormones control plant behavior, and why some plants grow long, deep roots while others grow them shallow and wide. But despite its beloved reputation among plant biologists worldwide, many elements of the Arabidopsis life cycle have remained a mystery. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-foundational-atlas-spans-entire-arabidopsis.html Plants & Animals Tue, 19 Aug 2025 11:35:05 EDT news674822102 A gene identified more than 30 years ago has now revealed its role as a natural microRNA (miRNA) sponge to fine-tune the legume nodulation pathway, thanks to an international collaboration led by Wageningen University and the Sainsbury Laboratory, Cambridge University. The paper is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-scientists-unravel-mystery-enod40-gene.html Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 19 Aug 2025 11:26:04 EDT news674821562 MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are tiny RNA molecules that regulate gene expression by controlling messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and are critical for various biological processes, including development, stress responses, and epigenetic regulation. In plants, the enzyme DICER-LIKE 1 (DCL1) processes miRNA precursors into mature miRNAs, and mutations in DCL1 can lead to developmental issues like delayed flowering and abnormal leaves, making its precision essential for plant growth. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-ghr-motif-discovery-reveals-mechanism.html Plants & Animals Thu, 14 Aug 2025 11:56:04 EDT news674391362 All living organisms encode the amino acid sequences of proteins as nucleotide sequences (genetic information) in their genomic DNA. The genetic information is transcribed and subsequently translated into functional proteins. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-discovery-trna-methyltransferase-unusual-domain.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 18 Jul 2025 08:40:02 EDT news672044210 In life science research involving cells, experiments are increasingly being conducted using robots. However, the impact of experimental parameters set for robots, such as the flow rate for aspirating and dispensing liquids (pipetting speed), on cells remains unclear. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-effect-liquid-yeast-growth-robots.html Biotechnology Fri, 18 Jul 2025 08:20:03 EDT news672044121 For decades, the central dogma of molecular biology—DNA makes RNA, RNA makes protein, protein makes phenotype—was the guiding framework for understanding inheritance and disease. This model explained classic Mendelian traits, such as how single DNA mutations in protein-coding regions could cause diseases like sickle cell anemia. Yet, this accounts for only about 2% of Mendelian inheritance and the resulting phenotypic changes. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-rna-revolution-life-blueprint-rewritten.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 10 Jul 2025 12:00:01 EDT news671364617 The ability to analyze gene expression at the single-cell level—known as single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq)—has transformed life sciences, driving discoveries across immunology, oncology, and developmental biology. Over 40,000 studies have leveraged this technique to map the complex diversity of cells within tissues and organisms. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-scientists-tackle-cell-reliability-crisis.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 03 Jul 2025 14:35:04 EDT news670772101 Two species of worms have retained remarkably similar patterns in the way they switch their genes on and off despite having split from a common ancestor 20 million years ago, a new study finds. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-transparent-worms-evolution.html Evolution Thu, 19 Jun 2025 14:00:11 EDT news669477241 Researchers have developed a new toolkit for detecting trypanosome parasites in livestock, aiding efforts to monitor and control the disease. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-rna-african-trypanosomiasis-livestock-aids.html Veterinary medicine Tue, 17 Jun 2025 10:15:55 EDT news669374150 Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the National Center for Genomic Analysis and the University of Adelaide have created a single-cell RNA analysis method that is 47 times cheaper and more scalable than other techniques. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-imaging-based-technique-democratizes-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 11 Jun 2025 16:02:01 EDT news668876516 You may have seen it in the news recently: a baby in Pennsylvania with a rare genetic disorder was healed with a personalized treatment that repaired his specific genetic mutation. The treatment was created using a form of gene editing called base editing—a method created by Alexis Komor when she was a postdoctoral scholar in molecular biologist David Liu's group at Harvard University. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-dna-proteins-gene-outcomes.html Biotechnology Wed, 04 Jun 2025 10:26:04 EDT news668251561 When RNA molecules are synthesized by cells—a critical process in the creation of proteins and other cellular functions—they typically undergo a series of "folding" events that determine their structure and the role they will play in expressing genetic information in living organisms. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-biochemical-method-view-earliest-stages.html Biochemistry Tue, 06 May 2025 09:29:04 EDT news665742541