New insights into centromere structure

Researchers led by Osaka University used cryogenic electron microscopy to analyze the atomic structure of the centromeric region of the chromosome, essential for cell division. A protein called CENP-A marks the centromere; ...

Protecting biocatalysts from oxygen

Certain enzymes from bacteria and algae can produce molecular hydrogen from protons and electrons—an energy carrier on which many hopes are riding. All they need for this purpose is light energy. The major obstacle to their ...

Researchers compile world's first 'atlas' of airborne microbes

Bacteria are truly abundant across the Earth's surface, from the soil to the oceans. The microbial population of the air that surrounds us is comparatively unknown, but a research expedition led by PolyU scientists is about ...

World's simplest animals get their place in the tree of life

The group with the world's simplest animals—tiny blob-like life forms with no organs and just a few cell types—finally has a fleshed-out family tree built by a research group led by the American Museum of Natural History, ...

Why synonymous mutations are not always silent

New modeling shows how synonymous mutations—those that change the DNA sequence of a gene but not the sequence of the encoded protein—can still impact protein production and function. A team of researchers led by Penn ...

You are 'what you eat,' but you are not 'where you live'

Genetic studies of the past 20 years have extensively shown how, across human populations worldwide, the majority of genetic differences are encountered at the individual rather than at the population level. Two random humans ...

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