A molecular on/off switch for CRISPR

Picture bacteria and viruses locked in an arms race. For many bacteria, one line of defense against viral infection is a sophisticated RNA-guided "immune system" called CRISPR-Cas. At the center of this system is a surveillance ...

Compact CRISPR systems found in some of world's smallest microbes

UC Berkeley scientists have discovered simple CRISPR systems similar to CRISPR-Cas9—a gene-editing tool that has revolutionized biology—in previously unexplored bacteria that have eluded efforts to grow them in the laboratory.

Hijacked cell division helped fuel rise of fungi

A new study finds that the more than 90,000 species of mushrooms, molds, yeasts and other fungi found everywhere in the soil, water and air may owe their abilities to grow, spread, and even cause disease to an opportunistic ...

Sequencing Ebola's secrets

Last June, in the early days of the Ebola outbreak in Western Africa, a team of researchers sequenced the genome of the deadly virus at unprecedented scale and speed. Their findings revealed a number of critical facts as ...

Sequencing technique unveiling the realm of viral mutations

Researchers at A*STAR have devised a sequencing technique that can track specific viral variants produced when viruses such as hepatitis B rapidly mutate within individual patients. The breakthrough allows an unprecedented ...

Viral proteins may regulate human embryonic development

A fertilized human egg may seem like the ultimate blank slate. But within days of fertilization, the growing mass of cells activates not only human genes but also viral DNA lingering in the human genome from ancient infections.

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