Some single-celled organisms are known to transition to multicellularity during their lifetimes, usually either by cloning themselves or when many similar cells come together to form a larger multicellular organism. A new ...
Should you ever find yourself playing a trivia game on the topic of moths and butterflies, here are a few facts that might help. Collectively called Lepidoptera, moths and butterflies account for nearly 10% of all animal ...
This week in the scientific process: researchers reported the first-ever shark sighted in Antarctic waters. Penguins beware! Biologists report that honey bees navigate more precisely than previously thought. And not all humans ...
Ribonucleotide reductases (RNR) are indispensable enzymes that convert ribonucleotides to deoxyribonucleotides (dNTPs), the precursors to make up DNA. Because DNA synthesis is fundamental to cell survival, RNR activity must ...
In a new study, published in Cell, researchers describe a newfound mechanism for creating proteins in a giant DNA virus, comparable to a mechanism in eukaryotic cells. The finding challenges the dogma that viruses lack protein ...
Some time around 1683, amateur Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek scraped the plaque from between his teeth and peered at it through a home-made microscope.
The most widely accepted scientific explanation for the arrival of all complex life on Earth has had an unsolved mystery at its heart. According to the theory, all plants, animals and fungi, known collectively as eukaryotes, ...
Bioengineered E. coli bacteria can now produce a group of compounds with anticancer, anti-HIV, antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory activities. The Kobe University achievement is the result of a rational design strategy that ...
After a long search, RIKEN researchers have identified an enzyme crucial for keeping lipid-linked sugar chains in check in yeast cells. This finding, published in the Journal of Cell Biology, reveals a novel regulatory mechanism ...
Bacteriophages are viruses that can kill bacteria through highly specific interactions. While this property can be beneficial in selected applications, bacteriophages represent a serious threat to laboratories and industries ...
