Genetic information is stored in DNA as a sequence of specific base pairings. This is passed on largely unchanged from one generation to the next. But how is it possible that cells differ so massively in form and function, ...
Evolution
Feb 10, 2022
0
4
For decades, a small group of cutting-edge medical researchers have been studying a biochemical, DNA tagging system, which switches genes on or off. Many have studied it in bacteria and now some have seen signs of it in, ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Feb 3, 2022
0
159
Growing up is a complex process for multi-celled organisms—plants included. In the days or weeks it takes to go from a seed to a sprout to a full plant, plants express hundreds of genes in different places at different ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 12, 2022
0
32
What determines how a cell's genome is regulated to ensure proper growth and development? Turns out, the parts of the genome that are turned on or off in each cell-type or tissue play a major role in this process. Now, a ...
Biotechnology
Jan 11, 2022
0
41
Mammalian offspring inherit two versions, or alleles, of each gene, with one allele from each biological parent. However, gene expression is tightly regulated and certain genes undergo the phenomenon of "genomic imprinting," ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jan 4, 2022
0
118
Researchers have shown for the first time that embryonic cells destined to become either egg or sperm rely on different methods of repressive gene regulation.
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 9, 2021
0
39
Chemical modifications of histones, the small proteins around which DNA is wrapped, are known to affect gene expression. In a study conducted in C. elegans, researchers from the Gasser group show that the defining modification ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 15, 2021
0
53
Crop improvement often involves the transfer of genetic material from one organism to another to produce a valuable trait. Some major examples of crops with these so-called "transgenes" include disease-resistant cotton and ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 9, 2021
0
45
All the cells in an individual's body bear the same genetic code. It is the reading and writing of this code—the "turning on" and "turning off" of specific genes in specific cells—that gives the cells their identities. ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Nov 9, 2021
0
61
An international group of researchers has made a groundbreaking discovery that could lead to new insights into the blueprint of identical twins.
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 29, 2021
0
156
