For tomato genes, one plus one doesn't always make two

Both people and tomatoes come in different shapes and sizes. That is because every individual has a unique set of genetic variations—mutations—that affect how genes act and function. Added together, millions of small ...

How to tame a restless genome

Short pieces of DNA—jumping genes—can bounce from one place to another in our genomes. When too many DNA fragments move around, cancer, infertility, and other problems can arise. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Professor ...

How human cells coordinate the start of DNA replication

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) President and CEO Bruce Stillman has been dissecting DNA replication, a critical step in cell division, since the 1980s. His lab studies how Origin Recognition Complexes—ORCs—coordinate ...

WOX9: A jack of all trades

Over evolutionary time scales, a single gene may acquire different roles in diverging species. However, revealing the multiple hidden roles of a gene was not possible before genome editing came along. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory ...

Tweaking corn kernels with CRISPR

Corn—or maize—has changed over thousands of years from weedy plants that make ears with less than a dozen kernels to the cobs packed with hundreds of juicy kernels that we see on farms today. Powerful DNA-editing techniques ...

Building a corn cob—cell by cell, gene by gene

Corn hasn't always been the sweet, juicy delight that we know today. And, without adapting to a rapidly changing climate, it is at risk of losing its place as a food staple. Putting together a plant is a genetic puzzle, with ...

How roundworms decide the time is right to grow

Transforming a fertilized egg into a fully functional adult is a complicated task. Cells must divide, move, and mature at specific times. Developmental genes control that process, turning on and off in a choreographed way. ...

The world's first DNA 'tricorder' in your pocket

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) scientists developed the world's first mobile genome sequence analyzer, a new iPhone app called iGenomics. By pairing an iPhone with a handheld DNA sequencer, users can create a mobile ...

Birds of a feather do flock together

Nearly 200 years ago, Charles Darwin noted striking diversity among the finches of the Galapagos Islands, and his observations helped him propose the role of natural selection in shaping species. Today, some biologists focus ...

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