How a mint became catmint

Catmint, also known as catnip, is well-known for its intoxicating effect on cats. The chemical responsible for the cats' strange behavior is nepetalactone, a volatile iridoid produced by catmint. An international team of ...

Artificial intelligence folds RNA molecules

For the function of many biomolecules, their three-dimensional structure is crucial. Researchers are therefore not only interested in the sequence of the individual building blocks of biomolecules, but also in their spatial ...

New drug-screening method yields long-sought anti-HIV compounds

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have used a powerful new chemical-screening method to find compounds that inhibit the activity of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS. Unlike existing ...

Genome of Irish potato famine pathogen decoded

(PhysOrg.com) -- A large international research team has decoded the genome of the notorious organism that triggered the Irish potato famine in the mid-19th century and now threatens this season's tomato and potato crops ...

Untwisting DNA reveals new force that shapes genomes

Advances in microscopy have enabled researchers to picture loops of DNA strands for the first time. The images reveal how the human genome organizes itself in three-dimensional space at much higher resolution than previously ...

Tomato's wild ancestor is a genomic reservoir for plant breeders

Thousands of years ago, people in South America began domesticating Solanum pimpinellifolium, a weedy plant with small, intensely flavored fruit. Over time, the plant evolved into S. lycopersicum—the modern cultivated tomato.

page 2 from 10