Genomes, as physical systems, comprise the complete set of nucleic acid molecules (typically DNA, or RNA in some viruses) that encode the hereditary information of an organism, including all chromosomes and extrachromosomal genetic elements. They are organized into linear or circular polymers of nucleotides, with specific higher-order structures such as chromatin in eukaryotes or nucleoid organization in prokaryotes. At the physical level, genomes exhibit defined sequence composition, length, and structural features (e.g., replication origins, regulatory regions, repetitive elements) that collectively determine their stability, replication dynamics, mutational patterns, and interactions with cellular molecular machinery.
For more than three decades, researchers studying genomes have relied on foundational resources such as Repbase and, more recently, Dfam to identify and classify transposable elements—the mobile DNA sequences that shape genome ...
Biotechnology
Jun 29, 2026
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9
How does your body produce millions of antibodies from one genome? New research reveals how two closely related proteins help immune cells fold DNA, connecting distant genetic pieces to create diverse antibodies that help ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 23, 2026
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8
Gene editing of plant DNA has the potential to produce crops with increased performance and resilience, but it can take a long time to achieve these gains. To shorten this process, scientists often use screening tools to ...
Biotechnology
Jun 22, 2026
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14
In a rapidly changing climate landscape, the plants we rely on for food, textiles and more face a multitude of challenges, including rising temperatures, drought and disease. Caltech's Gözde Demirer, the Clare Boothe Luce ...
Biotechnology
Jun 22, 2026
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204
In this era of Big Data, the prevailing wisdom is that more information leads to better answers. However, a new Canadian study shows that in the hunt for life's ancient ancestors, more data can actually lead to less truth. ...
Evolution
Jun 18, 2026
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77
Peanuts are an important staple crop for many people around the world. As well as being delicious as smooth or crunchy peanut butter, their seeds are high in healthy fats and protein and can be pressed into oil.
Molecular & Computational biology
Jun 17, 2026
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What if a single sentence could carry two completely different meanings, one when read forward and another when read backward? In a new study, researchers at Arizona State University have discovered a biological version of ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jun 17, 2026
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Using an innovative combination of biochemical experiments and ultra-high-resolution microscopy, a research team at Kiel University has solved the long-standing mystery of how the bacterium B. subtilis regulates its cell ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 16, 2026
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An international research team led by Forschungszentrum Jülich and the IPK Leibniz Institute has developed an artificial intelligence model that predicts where regulatory proteins dock onto plant DNA to switch genes on and ...
Biotechnology
Jun 16, 2026
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25
A new Yale-led study provides one of the most detailed and comprehensive analyses to date of genetic variation in human populations in Oceania, filling a major gap in representation in genomics research. Despite harboring ...
Evolution
Jun 11, 2026
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