Fly researchers find another layer hiding in the code of life

A new examination of the way different tissues read information from genes has discovered that the brain and testes appear to be extraordinarily open to the use of many different kinds of code to produce a given protein.

Reverse extinction: Should we redo the dodo?

Woolly mammoths stomp through the Siberian tundra as the giant moa strides the forest floor of New Zealand and Tasmania's dog-like "tigers" stalk their prey under the cover of night. This is not a snapshot of times past, ...

Quantum mechanics could explain why DNA can spontaneously mutate

The molecules of life, DNA, replicate with astounding precision, yet this process is not immune to mistakes and can lead to mutations. Using sophisticated computer modeling, a team of physicists and chemists at the University ...

RNA double helix structure identified using synchrotron light

When Francis Crick and James Watson discovered the double helical structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in 1953, their findings began a genetic revolution to map, study, and sequence the building blocks of living organisms.

Efficient antibody production 'wobbles,' new study finds

Molecular biology's central dogma posits a simple recipe for the construction of the human body: a DNA blueprint is transcribed into an RNA message, and the RNA message is translated into the proteins that make you. Translating ...

Scientists discover RNA modifications in some unexpected places

The so-called central dogma of molecular biology—that DNA makes RNA which makes protein—has long provided a simplified explanation for how genetic information is deciphered and translated in living organisms.

Base-pairing protects DNA from UV damage

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich researchers have discovered a further function of the base-pairing that holds the two strands of the DNA double helix together: it plays a crucial role in protecting the DNA from the ...

DNA breakthrough spelt double trouble for Nobels

The discovery of the DNA double helix 60 years ago proved to be a headache for the Nobel organisation as the feat became nominated for prizes in different categories at the same time, Nature reported on Wednesday.

page 1 from 3