Irradiation preserves blueberry, grape quality

It is often necessary to treat produce for insects in order to transport crops out of quarantine areas. Fumigation with methyl bromide, one of the most common treatments, is in the process of being phased out because of its ...

New insights into cooperativity in gene regulation

In a study published in Nature, Dirk Schübeler and his group at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) describe how the interplay between transcription factors and epigenetic modifications of DNA ...

The subtle dance of atoms influences enzyme activity

Infinitesimal fluctuations occurring on the milli- and even nano-second time scales within the three-dimensional structure of enzymes may be one of the keys to explaining protein function. Professor Nicolas Doucet's team ...

Scientists create first map of the wheat epigenome

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have carried out the first ever genome-wide survey of heritable molecular changes that regulate gene activity in wheat, in what could become a new tool to improve crop breeding technologies.

Use of banned pesticide not isolated event in US territories

Nine months after a vacationing family nearly died from exposure to methyl bromide on the island of St. John, authorities have come to at least one troubling conclusion: The use of the banned pesticide was not an isolated ...

Packaging and unpacking of the genome

DNA represents a dynamic form of information, balancing efficient storage and access requirements. Packaging approximately 1.8m of DNA into something as small as a cell nucleus is no mean feat, but unpacking it again to access ...

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