Related topics: genes · genetic variation · genome · nature genetics

Stem cells are wired for cooperation, down to the DNA

We often think of human cells as tiny computers that perform assigned tasks, where disease is a result of a malfunction. But in the current issue of Science, researchers at The Mount Sinai Medical Center offer a radical view ...

Flexible throughout life by varying numbers of chromosome copies

Baker's yeast is a popular test organism in biology. Yeasts are able to duplicate single chromosomes reversibly and thereby adapt flexibly to environmental conditions. Scientists from the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine ...

Drought response identified in potential biofuel plant

Drought resistance is the key to large-scale production of Jatropha, a potential biofuel plant—and an international group of scientists has identified the first step toward engineering a hardier variety.

Fly society

(Phys.org) —USC Dornsife's Sergey Nuzhdin, professor of molecular biology, uses fruit flies to examine whether behavior is genetic- or social environment-based. The team provided proof for the first time that grouping according ...

Biological fitness trumps other traits in mating game

When a new species emerges following adaptive changes to its local environment, the process of choosing a mate can help protect the new species' genetic identity and increase the likelihood of its survival. But of the many ...

Bittersweet: Bait-averse cockroaches shudder at sugar

Sugar isn't always sweet to German cockroaches, especially to the ones that avoid roach baits. In a study published May 24 in the journal Science, North Carolina State University entomologists show the neural mechanism behind ...

A surprising new function for small RNAs in evolution

An international research team in including Christian Schlötterer and Alistair McGregor of the Vetmeduni Vienna has discovered a completely new mechanism by which evolution can change the appearance of an organism. The ...

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