Scientists shed light on biological roots of individuality

Put 50 newborn worms in 50 separate containers, and they'll all start looking for food at roughly the same time. Like members of other species, microscopic C. elegans roundworms tend to act like other individuals their own ...

Messenger orbital data confirm theories, reveal surprises

On March 18, 2011, the MESSENGER spacecraft entered orbit around Mercury to become that planet's first orbiter. The spacecraft's instruments are making a complete reconnaissance of the planet's geochemistry, geophysics, geologic ...

Engineers create an inhalable form of messenger RNA

Messenger RNA, which can induce cells to produce therapeutic proteins, holds great promise for treating a variety of diseases. The biggest obstacle to this approach so far has been finding safe and efficient ways to deliver ...

Enhancing RNA interference

Nanoparticles that deliver short strands of RNA offer a way to treat cancer and other diseases by shutting off malfunctioning genes. Although this approach has shown some promise, scientists are still not sure exactly what ...

Hitting back at 'wiretapping' parasite

Dodder vines are parasitic plants that suck water, nutrients and information from other plants as they spread over them. Plant biologists at the University of California, Davis, have now shown that they can make plants resistant ...

RNA modification important for brain function

Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have shown that a new way of regulating genes is vital for the activity of the nervous system. They found that this form ...

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