Applying the Goldilocks principle to DNA structure

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 ...

Protein coding 'junk genes' may be linked to cancer

By using a new analysis method, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab) in Sweden have found close to one hundred novel human gene regions that code for proteins. A number of these ...

How Archaea might find their food

The microorganism Methanosarcina acetivorans lives off everything it can metabolize into methane. How it finds its sources of energy, is not yet clear. Scientists at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum together with colleagues from ...

Gravity plays a role in keeping cells small

(Phys.org) —The effects of gravity are relevant when building houses or flying airplanes, but biologists have generally accepted that the average cell is too small for gravity to play a role in how it is built or behaves. ...

Controlling insulin production with a smartwatch

Many modern fitness trackers and smartwatches feature integrated LEDs. The green light emitted, whether continuous or pulsed, penetrates the skin and can be used to measure the wearer's heart rate during physical activity ...

Overcoming hurdles in CRISPR gene editing to improve treatment

More and more scientists are using the powerful new gene-editing tool known as CRISPR/Cas9, a technology isolated from bacteria, that holds promise for new treatment of such genetic diseases as cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy ...

Scientists discover a role for 'junk' DNA

Researchers at the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have determined how satellite DNA, considered to be "junk DNA," plays a crucial role in holding the genome together.

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