Nocturnal and diurnal mammals see the same—but only for a brief time. When mice are born, the chromatin in the cells of their eyes has a diurnal structure. Day by day, the layout of this chromatin slowly inverts, allowing ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Sep 11, 2019
0
212
Of the three billion base pairs in the human genome, less than two percent contain the information encoding the ~20,000 proteins. That is, because at least half of our genetic material originated from selfish genetic elements ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 9, 2019
0
27
Transcription factors control gene activation in cells. By binding to specific segments of DNA, they enable the blueprints that code for cellular proteins to be produced. But how are such factors themselves regulated?
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 30, 2019
0
7
Scientists at the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Oxford have shown that small RNA molecules occurring naturally in cells, i.e. microRNAs, are also abundant in cell nuclei. Previously, microRNAs were mainly ...
Biotechnology
Jul 17, 2019
0
50
The nucleolus is a well-known structure in the cell nucleus that is easily visible under a light microscope. This nuclear structure is known to be the site of ribosome production. A new study shows that the nucleolus is also ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 17, 2019
0
77
A flamingo lives 40 years and a human being lives 90 years; a mouse lives two years and an elephant lives 60. Why? What determines the lifespan of a species? After analyzing nine species of mammals and birds, researchers ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 8, 2019
1
1675
The Goldilocks of fairy-tale fame knew something about porridge. It needed to be just right—neither too hot nor too cold. Same with furniture—neither too hard nor too soft. In a different context, scientists at UC San ...
General Physics
Jun 25, 2019
0
1
Despite how essential plants are for life on Earth, little is known about how parts of plant cells orchestrate growth and greening. By creating mutant plants, UC Riverside researchers have uncovered a cellular communication ...
Biotechnology
Jun 14, 2019
0
296
The cell contains transcripts of genetic material, which migrate from the cell nucleus to another part of the cell. This movement protects the genetic transcripts from the recruitment of "spliceosomes." If this protection ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 12, 2019
0
2
Spatial separation of active from inactive fractions of the genome in the cell nucleus is crucial for gene expression control. A new study uncovers leading mechanisms of such separation and turns our picture of the nucleus ...
Evolution
Jun 6, 2019
0
153
