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.
Shapes of beaks and snouts come in an extraordinary range of forms, reflecting adaptations to different lifestyles and environments. Yet beneath this diversity lies a paradox: across birds and mammals, faces are built using ...
Evolution
May 7, 2026
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Scientists have uncovered more than 1,700 new proteins that could have implications for human diseases, including cancer. Mostly very small, these proteins were found in what's called the "dark proteome," which covers gene ...
Biotechnology
May 6, 2026
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202
Watermelon is a quintessential summertime fruit, evoking images of warm, sunny afternoons and cookouts with friends and family. You can easily picture its striped, green rind and pink flesh, imagine the delicate crunch as ...
Molecular & Computational biology
May 5, 2026
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11
One of life's many mysteries is how it ended up choosing only a set of 20 amino acids to build proteins for its wide catalog of organisms, from single-celled bacteria to behemoth whales. From a chemical standpoint, many of ...
When scientist J. Craig Venter and his team announced in 2010 that they had created the first cell controlled by a fully synthetic genome, it marked a turning point in how scientists think about life.
Biotechnology
May 3, 2026
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98
Cell division is one of the most fundamental and complex processes underpinning life. In human cells, thousands of molecules coordinate with one another in highly precise steps, all within a fraction of a second. But things ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 1, 2026
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51
A Moffitt Cancer Center researcher has introduced a new model that addresses one of biology's most fundamental questions: How does genetic information keep living systems organized and therefore alive?
Cell & Microbiology
May 1, 2026
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28
When a gene is turned on in a cell, it creates a ripple effect along the DNA strand, changing the physical structure of the strand. A new study by MIT researchers, appearing in Science, shows that these ripples can stimulate ...
Biotechnology
Apr 30, 2026
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9
How do our genes determine our appearance and our susceptibility to disease? This question is central to biomedical research, and today we can sequence thousands of human genomes to identify these genes. However, genes work ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 30, 2026
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49
New technology enables the insertion of a large segment of DNA into a genome, potentially expanding gene therapy treatment from cancellation of disease-causing mutations to replacement of an entire gene, scientists say.
Biotechnology
Apr 29, 2026
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