Secondary metabolites—the compounds produced by microbes to mediate internal and external messaging, self-defense, and chemical warfare—are the basis for hundreds of invaluable agricultural, industrial, and medical products. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 14, 2019
1
182
Toronto researchers have discovered that a single molecular event in our cells could hold the key to how we evolved to become the smartest animal on the planet.
Evolution
Aug 20, 2015
1
1122
When the human genome was first sequenced, experts predicted they would find about 100,000 genes. The actual number has turned out to be closer to 20,000, just a few thousand more than fruit flies have. The question logically ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 31, 2014
107
0
Duckweed is a tiny floating plant that's been known to drive people daffy. It's one of the smallest and fastest-growing flowering plants that often becomes a hard-to-control weed in ponds and small lakes. But it's also been ...
Biotechnology
Feb 19, 2014
2
0
(Phys.org)—It has long been known that diversity of form and function in birds' specialized beaks is abundant. Charles Darwin famously studied the finches on the Galapagos Islands, tying the morphology (shape) of various ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 24, 2012
0
0
A hidden and never before recognized layer of information in the genetic code has been uncovered by a team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) thanks to a technique developed at UCSF called ...
Biotechnology
Mar 28, 2012
4
0
Scientists have discovered that marine diatoms, tiny phytoplankton abundant in the sea, have an animal-like urea cycle, and that this cycle enables the diatoms to efficiently use carbon and nitrogen from their environment.
Cell & Microbiology
May 11, 2011
0
0
Genetic disorders—like cystic fibrosis and Huntington's disease—are considered incurable, with gene mutations occurring in essentially every cell of the body. Gene mutations occur when one nucleotide in a codon is switched. ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Aug 28, 2024
0
28
A study on dogs found that chromatin's spatial structure has a significant role in the evolution of social behavior. Chromatin, the compact form of DNA, not only packages genetic material but also plays a crucial role in ...
Evolution
Aug 14, 2024
0
77
UNSW Sydney researchers have made new discoveries of fundamental differences in biological processes between males and females—by interrogating the unique and diverse sex chromosome systems of the platypus and the chicken.
Plants & Animals
Jul 30, 2024
0
24
