Genomes of Two Popular Research Strains of E. coli Sequenced

(PhysOrg.com) -- An international team of researchers from the United States, Korea, and France has sequenced and analyzed the genomes of two important laboratory strains of E. coli bacteria, one used to study evolution and ...

C. difficile hypervirulence genes identified

Five genetic regions have been identified that are unique to the most virulent strain of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), the hospital superbug. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology ...

Yeast unravels effects of chemotherapy drugs

Until now, the mode of action of nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate (N-BP) cancer drugs, used to relieve bone pain and to prevent skeletal complications in bone metastasis, has been almost entirely unknown. Researchers writing ...

Scientists to study plant 'switchboards'

A new four-year, $3.72 million grant to North Carolina State University will allow researchers to shed light on an important mystery - how genes impact the type and amount of "glue," known as lignin, produced in trees. Understanding ...

Rutgers-Camden developing enzyme function database

Since the advent of the Human Genome Project an explosion of data has sent the science world scrambling. There is a growing demand to fine-tune genomic codes, which list the "ingredients for life," but do not adequately explain ...

Major insights into evolution of life reported

(PhysOrg.com) -- Humans might not be walking the face of the Earth were it not for the ancient fusing of two prokaryotes -- tiny life forms that do not have a cellular nucleus. UCLA molecular biologist James A. Lake reports ...

Raising the alarm when DNA goes bad (w/ Video)

Scientists have known for a long time that when DNA is damaged, a key enzyme sets off a cellular "alarm bell" to alert the cell to start the repair process, but until recently little was known about how the cell detects and ...

Drug-proof zebrafish reveal secrets of addiction

The effects of amphetamines on gene expression in zebrafish have been uncovered. This new study, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology, provides clues to the genetics that underlie susceptibility ...

After dinosaurs, mammals rise but their genomes get smaller

(PhysOrg.com) -- Evidence buried in the chromosomes of animals and plants strongly suggests only one group -- mammals -- have seen their genomes shrink after the dinosaurs' extinction. What's more, that trend continues today, ...

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