Many humans live to see their 70s and 80s, some even reach 100 years old. But life is much shorter for our closest animal relatives. Chimpanzees, for example, rarely make it past age 50, despite sharing almost 99% of our ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 21, 2020
0
178
Researchers have resolved a longstanding biological debate by revealing the existence and function of complex RNA structures in plants.
Plants & Animals
Sep 3, 2020
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27
Catmint, also known as catnip, is well-known for its intoxicating effect on cats. The chemical responsible for the cats' strange behavior is nepetalactone, a volatile iridoid produced by catmint. An international team of ...
Biotechnology
May 13, 2020
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80
You may not have heard of geosmin but, wherever you may be on this planet, it is highly likely that you'd recognise its smell.
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 7, 2020
1
230
For decades, scientists and doctors have known that bacteria in soil were capable of manufacturing streptozotocin, an antibiotic compound that is also an important treatment for certain types of pancreatic cancer.
Biochemistry
Feb 7, 2019
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148
Scientists have developed a computational method to detect chemical changes in DNA that highlight cell diversity and may lead to a better understanding of cancer.
Biotechnology
Aug 4, 2017
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179
For many, experience with Daphnia, commonly known as water fleas, ends in high school. The organism is often used for science experiments exploring water toxicity, because of its sensitivity to environmental factors. But ...
Biotechnology
May 5, 2017
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191
We all know how hard it is to find something small like a dropped contact lens that blends into the background. It's similarly tough for biologists to find tiny proteins against the complex background of the cell. But, increasingly, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 5, 2016
0
11
A pair of genetics researchers at Iowa State University found striking patterns in the building blocks of DNA in a wide variety of species, according to their recently published paper.
Mar 27, 2015
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25
Trying to find new materials, to improve the performance of anything from microchips to car bodies, has always been a process of trial and error. MIT materials scientist Gerbrand Ceder likens it to setting out from Boston ...
Condensed Matter
Feb 4, 2014
1
0
