Using a new method to catch elusive "jumping genes" in the act, researchers have found two human proteins that are used by one type of DNA to replicate itself and move from place to place. The discovery, described in the ...
Biotechnology
Nov 21, 2013
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Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have, for the first time, taken chimpanzee and bonobo skin cells and turned them into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), a type of cell that has the ability to ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 23, 2013
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Corn split off from its closest relative teosinte, a wild Mexican grass, about 10,000 years ago thanks to the breeding efforts of early Mexican farmers. Today it's hard to tell that the two plants were ever close kin: Corn ...
Biotechnology
Sep 25, 2011
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Scientists studying gene activity data of the early human embryo have discovered an overlooked type of cell that self-destructs within days of forming, as part of a quality control process to protect the developing fetus. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 20, 2023
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Jumping genes, or transposons, are sections of DNA that can copy themselves and jump between different parts of the genome, and might help plants adapt to stressful, changing conditions, according to a study published in ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 15, 2023
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The world is filled with tiny creatures that find us delicious. Bacteria and viruses are the obvious bad guys, drivers of deadly global pandemics and annoying infections. But the pathogens we haven't had to reckon with as ...
Ecology
Jan 30, 2023
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130
A fungus that infects salamanders contains multiple copies of the same "jumping genes", scientists have discovered.
Evolution
Jan 4, 2023
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Evolution is often portrayed as a "tinkering" process, one that makes use of slight modifications to pre-existing capabilities. So how do organisms evolve brand new structures?
Evolution
Sep 1, 2022
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"Jumping genes" are ubiquitous. Every domain of life hosts these sequences of DNA that can "jump" from one position to another along a chromosome; in fact, nearly half the human genome is made up of jumping genes. Depending ...
Biotechnology
Jun 13, 2016
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Deep within your DNA, a tiny parasite lurks, waiting to pounce from its perch and land in the middle of an unsuspecting healthy gene. If it succeeds, it can make you sick.
Biotechnology
Nov 12, 2015
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