In evolutionary biology, there is a deeply rooted supposition that you can't go home again: Once an organism has evolved specialized traits, it can't return to the lifestyle of its ancestors.
Evolution
Mar 8, 2013
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Among eukaryotes with modified nuclear genetic codes, viruses are unknown. Until now it had been believed that the modifications to the genetic code effectively prevented new viral infections. However, researchers have now ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 5, 2013
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(Phys.org)—Two unique chemical probes designed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are helping scientists find how a pathogenic organism responsible for a severe lung infection thrives in human serum. These probes ...
Biochemistry
Jan 4, 2013
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Long ago, when life on our planet was in its infancy, a group of small single-celled algae floating in the vast prehistoric ocean swam freely by beating whip-like tails, called flagella. It's a relatively unremarkable tale, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 11, 2012
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Bacteria can talk to each other via molecules they themselves produce. The phenomenon is called quorum sensing, and is important when an infection propagates. Now, researchers at Linköping University in Sweden are showing ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 6, 2012
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Scientists have identified a new mechanism of bacterial pathogenesis. The results of the research project, partly funded by the Academy of Finland, have been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 27, 2012
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The major difference between plant and animal cells is the photosynthetic process, which converts light energy into chemical energy. When light isn't available, energy is generated by breaking down carbohydrates ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 27, 2012
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The problem of parasitism occurs at all levels right down to the DNA scale. Genomes may contain up to 80 percent "foreign" DNA but details of the mechanisms by which this enters the host genome and how hosts attempt to combat ...
Biotechnology
Feb 3, 2012
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Studying self-replicating genetic units, called plasmids, found in one of the world's widest-ranging pathogenic soil bacteria -- the crown-gall-disease-causing microorganism Agrobacterium tumefaciens -- Indiana University ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 1, 2012
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A virus found in the sea off Chile is the biggest in the world, harbouring more than 1,000 genes, surprised scientists reported on Monday.
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 10, 2011
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