The potential in your pond

Scientists at the John Innes Centre have discovered that Euglena gracilis, the single cell algae which inhabits most garden ponds, has a whole host of new, unclassified genes which can make new forms of carbohydrates and ...

DNA research offers clues on cell mutation

A team of researchers from Colorado State University has been studying DNA damage in living cells to learn more about how genetic abnormalities arise. It has long been known that DNA molecules in every cell get constantly ...

Raising the blockade

At crucial points in the metabolism of all organisms, a protein with the unwieldy name of Translation Elongation Factor P (EF-P, for short) takes center stage. What it actually does during protein synthesis has only now been ...

Study reveals how ribosomes override their blockades

Ribosomes are "protein factories" in the cells of all living things. They produce proteins based on existing genetic codes stored on special nucleic acid molecules. These molecules, also called messenger RNA (mRNA) due to ...

Process important to brain development studied in detail

Knowledge about the development of the nervous system is of the greatest importance for us to understand the function of the brain and brain disorders. Researchers at Uppsala University have examined the key step when genes ...

Spying on a cellular director in the cutting room

Like a film director cutting out extraneous footage to create a blockbuster, the cellular machine called the spliceosome snips out unwanted stretches of genetic material and joins the remaining pieces to fashion a template ...

How to maintain gender equality through the sex chromosomes

Asymmetric sex chromosomes were independently shaped during evolution in many species, and different strategies evolved alongside to overcome the resulting imbalance in genetic information. Molecular biologist Marie-Line ...

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