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 ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 14, 2012
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(Phys.org)—Diatoms (unicellular photosynthetic organisms) reproduce through asexual cell division alternating with short periods of sexual reproduction. A German and Belgian team has now determined that pheromones play ...
Biochemistry
Dec 14, 2012
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(Phys.org)—The nucleic acid RNA is an essential part of the critical process by which the cells in our bodies manufacture proteins. But noncoding RNAs also exist whose sequences, while not converted into proteins, play ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 21, 2012
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Humans share over 90% of their DNA with their primate cousins. The expression or activity patterns of genes differ across species in ways that help explain each species' distinct biology and behavior.
Biotechnology
Nov 6, 2012
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Sea cucumbers and sea urchins are able to change the elasticity of collagen within their bodies, and could hold the key to maintaining a youthful appearance, according to scientists at Queen Mary, University of London.
Biotechnology
Oct 1, 2012
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Some RNA molecules spend time in a restful state akin to hibernation rather than automatically carrying out their established job of delivering protein-building instructions in cells, new research suggests.
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 27, 2012
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Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center have developed "RNA switches" which allow them to specifically turn on and off genes in viruses. This will help to enhance regulation of gene therapy and viral therapy of cancer.
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 21, 2012
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Dodder vines are parasitic plants that suck water, nutrients and information from other plants as they spread over them. Plant biologists at the University of California, Davis, have now shown that they can make plants resistant ...
Biotechnology
Jul 24, 2012
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Numerous biological processes depend on molecules called lariat RNAs (LaRNAs). These lasso-shaped structures form in the cell during RNA splicing. During this process, transcribed RNA strands convert to messenger RNA before ...
Biochemistry
May 24, 2012
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Over the past decade, research in the field of epigenetics has revealed that chemically modified bases are abundant components of the human genome and has forced us to abandon the notion we've had since high school genetics ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 17, 2012
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