News tagged with gene functions

Related topics: genes

Red wine, fruit compound could help block fat cell formation

(PhysOrg.com) -- A compound found in red wine, grapes and other fruits, and similar in structure to resveratrol, is able to block cellular processes that allow fat cells to develop, opening a door to a potential ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Apr 04, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Japanese honeybees swarm huge hornet predator to kill it with heat

Japanese honeybees face a formidable foe in the Asian giant hornet, a fierce predator that can reach 40mm long or larger, but the bees have developed a novel defense mechanism: they create a "hot defensive bee ball," swarming ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Mar 14, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 3

A foot in the door to genetic information

In the cell nucleus, DNA wraps around what are called histone proteins, forming regularly spaced spherical bodies called nucleosomes. Thus, large portions of the genetic material are inaccessible to the gene reading machinery. ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Mar 07, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Why 'soot' could be the key to delivering drugs to cancer cells

Nano-scale tubes made of carbon could be used to safely penetrate human cells and deliver anti-cancer medicines or modified DNA molecules for gene therapy. Although there is a long way to go before the concept ...

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Feb 29, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Using plants to silence insect genes in a high-throughput manner

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Germany, are now using a procedure which brings forward ecological research on insects: They study gene functions in moth larvae by manipulating ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 02, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Research in cellular memory

How do fetal cells know what cell types to become? Why do cells in the adult body sometimes forget what they are and develop into cancer cells? These are some of the questions intensively investigated within the research ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 07, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Fruit fly intestine may hold secret to the fountain of youth

One of the few reliable ways to extend an organism's lifespan, be it a fruit fly or a mouse, is to restrict calorie intake. Now, a new study in fruit flies is helping to explain why such minimal diets are ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Nov 02, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (17) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

New technique gives precise picture of how regulatory RNA controls gene activity

A new technique developed by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine allows researchers to identify the exact DNA sequences and locations bound by regulatory RNAs. This information is necessary to understand ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Sep 29, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

A question of gene silencing

When investigating cancer cells, researchers discovered numerous peculiarities: Particular RNA molecules are present in large numbers, particular genes are overactive. Do these characteristics have a relation to cancer? Do ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Aug 24, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Researchers flip the switch between development and aging in C. elegans

When researchers at the Buck Institute dialed back activity of a specific mRNA translation factor in adult nematode worms they saw an unexpected genome-wide response that effectively increased activity in specific stress ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jul 05, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

As the worm turns, its secrets are revealed

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, have developed a new method for discerning the functions of previously uncharacterized ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Apr 28, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists uncover new DNA role in modifying gene function

For years, scientists have thought of DNA as a passive blueprint capable only of producing specific proteins through RNA transcription. Now, research led by scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 10, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Why some children are harmed by mother's alcohol, but others aren't

Exposure to alcohol in the womb doesn't affect all fetuses equally. Why does one woman who drinks alcohol during pregnancy give birth to a child with physical, behavioral or learning problems -- known as fetal alcohol spectrum ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Mar 23, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Shear brain power - sheep smarter than previously believed

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the University of Cambridge have discovered that sheep are more intelligent than previously believed.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Feb 21, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (12) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Researchers develop techniques to manipulate plant adaption in arid climates

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researchers have developed techniques to manipulate root development functionality that can help plants better adapt to hostile growing environments.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 15, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0