Rare form of active 'jumping genes' found in mammals

Much of the DNA that makes up our genomes can be traced back to strange rogue sequences known as transposable elements, or jumping genes, which are largely idle in mammals. But Johns Hopkins researchers report they have identified ...

Study turns parasite invasion theory on its head

Current thinking on how the Toxoplasma gondii parasite invades its host is incorrect, according to a study published today in Nature Methods describing a new technique to knock out genes. The findings could have implications ...

Chasing a common cold virus

(Phys.org)—As the cold and flu season makes its annual visit, a team of researchers, using Argonne's Advanced Photon Source, continue to complete a detailed map of the human adenovirus—one of several viruses responsible ...

Small bacteria helping big things grow in the ocean

Around 71 per cent of the Earth's surface is made up of salt-water oceans - that's 98 per cent of all water. The ecosystems that exist beneath their surface are diverse and vibrant. Their sheer scale, however, means that ...

Biophysicists unravel secrets of genetic switch

When an invading bacterium or virus starts rummaging through the contents of a cell nucleus, using proteins like tiny hands to rearrange the host's DNA strands, it can alter the host's biological course. The invading proteins ...

Poxviruses defeat antiviral defenses by duplicating a gene

Scientists have discovered that poxviruses, which are responsible for smallpox and other diseases, can adapt to defeat different host antiviral defenses by quickly and temporarily producing multiple copies of a gene that ...

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