Scientists identify 'molecular fossil' in fungi

(Phys.org) —All but a few eukaryotes die without oxygen, and they respond dynamically to changes in the level of oxygen available to them. UCD scientists used genetic analysis to pinpoint an evolutionary switch in regulating ...

It takes a(n academic) village to determine an enzyme's function

Scientists have sequenced the genomes of nearly 6,900 organisms, but they know the functions of only about half of the protein-coding genes thus far discovered. Now a multidisciplinary effort involving 15 scientists from ...

The first malaria-proof mosquito

For years, researchers worldwide have attempted to create genetically altered mosquitoes that cannot infect humans with malaria. Those efforts fell short because the mosquitoes still were capable of transmitting the disease-causing ...

The pathway to potato poisons

In 1924, Science magazine reported on a fatal case of potato poisoning: James B. Matheney of Vandalia, Illinois, had gathered about one and a half bushels of tubers, which had turned green due to sunlight exposure. Two days ...

Watching a protein as it functions

(Phys.org) —When it comes to understanding how proteins perform their amazing cellular feats, it is often the case that the more one knows the less one realizes they know. For decades, biochemists and biophysicists have ...

Synthetic biology used to engineer new route to biochemicals

Living cells can make a vast range of products for us, but they don't always do it in the most straightforward or efficient way. Shota Atsumi, a chemistry professor at UC Davis, aims to address that through "synthetic biology:" ...

Reversible method of tagging proteins developed

Chemists at UC San Diego have developed a method that for the first time provides scientists the ability to attach chemical probes onto proteins and subsequently remove them in a repeatable cycle.

The protective layer of prehistoric land plants

An international research team has discovered a biochemical pathway that is responsible for the development of moss cuticles. These waxy coverings of epidermal cells are the outer layer of plants and protect them from water ...

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