A rare, small RNA turns a gene-splicing machine into a switch that controls the expression of hundreds of human genes. Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and professor of Biochemistry Gideon Dreyfuss, PhD, and his ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 21, 2013
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(Phys.org) —A Stanford University bioengineer has helped develop a technology that can tweak the control systems that regulate the inner workings of cells, pointing the way toward future medical interventions that could ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 16, 2013
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An enzyme is a tiny, well-oiled machine. A class of proteins that are made up of multiple, interlocking molecular components, enzymes perform a variety of tasks inside each cell. However, precisely how these components work ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 8, 2013
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(Phys.org) —For most terrestrial life on Earth, oxygen is necessary for survival. But the planet's atmosphere did not always contain this life-sustaining substance, and one of science's greatest mysteries is how and when ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 26, 2013
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(Phys.org) —Viruses are masters of minimalist design. With only a simple genome and a handful of proteins, a virus can hijack much more sophisticated cells and mimic many of the intra- and inter-cellular machinery built ...
Biochemistry
Jun 14, 2013
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Scientists have long known that control mechanisms known collectively as "epigenetics" play a critical role in human development, but they did not know precisely how alterations in this extra layer of biochemical instructions ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 9, 2013
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(Phys.org) —Your cells are social butterflies. They constantly interact with their surroundings, taking in cues on when to divide and where to anchor themselves, among other critical tasks.
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 21, 2013
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(Phys.org)—Machines don't always run smoothly – phone calls drop, computers crash and cars stall.
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 1, 2013
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Four billion years ago, soon after the planet cooled enough for life to begin, primordial cells may have replicated and divided without protein machinery or cell walls, relying instead on just a flimsy lipid membrane. New ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 28, 2013
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(Phys.org)—Researchers seeking to improve production of ethanol from woody crops have a new resource in the form of an extensive molecular map of poplar tree proteins, published by a team from the Department of Energy's ...
Biotechnology
Jan 30, 2013
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