News tagged with molecular changes

Earth history and evolution

In classical mythology, the cypress tree is associated with death, the underworld and eternity. Indeed, the family to which cypresses belong, is an ancient lineage of conifers, and a new study of their evolution affords a ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created May 03, 2012 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (7) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Evolution in action: Genetic study may answer why we have plenty of fish in the sea

(PhysOrg.com) -- Three-spine sticklebacks aren't as pretty as many aquarium fish, and anglers don't fantasize about hooking one. But biologists treasure these small fish for what they are revealing about the ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Apr 04, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

A glow in the Martian night throws light on atmospheric circulation

(PhysOrg.com) -- A faint, infrared glow above the winter poles of Mars is giving new insights into seasonal changes in the planet's atmospheric circulation. The tell-tale night emission was first detected ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Apr 04, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Honeycomb structure responsible for bacteria's extraordinary sense

(PhysOrg.com) -- Cornell researchers have peered into the complex molecular network of receptors that give one-celled organisms like bacteria the ability to sense their environment and respond to chemical ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Feb 20, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (11) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Stress-induced genomic instability facilitates rapid cellular adaption in yeast

Cells trying to keep pace with constantly changing environmental conditions need to strike a fine balance between maintaining their genomic integrity and allowing enough genetic flexibility to adapt to inhospitable conditions. ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jan 29, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Spring's rising soil temperatures see hormones wake seeds from their winter slumber

Dormant seeds in the soil detect and respond to seasonal changes in soil temperature by changing their sensitivity to plant hormones, new research by the University of Warwick has found.

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 12, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

British butterfly is evolving to respond to climate change

As global temperatures rise and climatic zones move polewards, species will need to find different environments to prevent extinction. New research, published today in the journal Molecular Ecology, has re ...

Biology / Ecology

created Nov 30, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

When inflexibility is counterproductive: Mechanism of UV-induced DNA Dewar lesion revealed

Excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation of sunlight can result in skin damage and may even induce skin cancers. Irradiation with UV light causes mutations in the DNA, which can interfere with or even inhibit the ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Nov 28, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

How hemp got high: Canadian scientists map the cannabis genome

A team of Canadian researchers has sequenced the genome of Cannabis sativa, the plant that produces both industrial hemp and marijuana, and in the process revealed the genetic changes that led to the plant's drug-producing proper ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Oct 19, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (12) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Current view of soil-climate interaction too simplistic, warn scientists

(PhysOrg.com) -- Assumptions over the rate at which soil bacteria will break down carbon in the face of global warming must be re-addressed, according to some of the world’s leading experts.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Oct 05, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Invasion of genomic parasites triggered modern mammalian pregnancy

Genetic parasites invaded the mammalian genome more than 100 million years ago and dramatically changed the way mammals reproduce -- transforming the uterus in the ancestors of humans and other mammals from the production ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Sep 25, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (8) | comments 9 | with audio podcast

Discovery alters conventional understanding of sight

A discovery by a team of researchers led by a Syracuse University physicist sheds new light on how the vision process is initiated. For almost 50 years, scientists have believed that light signals could not be initiated unless ...

Chemistry / Other

created Jun 23, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Normal stem cells made to look and act like cancer stem cells

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, after isolating normal stem cells that form the developing placenta, have given them the same properties of stem cells associated ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 05, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

New technique may help quell cholera outbreak

A new technique honed by University of Florida scientists can track rapid molecular changes that occur in cholera strains during epidemics and researchers hope the genetic analysis will help stamp out such outbreaks.

Medicine & Health / Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

created Mar 31, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Too much of a good thing: Human activities overload ecosystems with nitrogen

Humans are overloading ecosystems with nitrogen through the burning of fossil fuels and an increase in nitrogen-producing industrial and agricultural activities, according to a new study. While nitrogen is ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Oct 07, 2010 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (9) | comments 22 | with audio podcast