True colors: Female squid have two ways to switch color

The female common market squid –– AKA Doryteuthis opalescens –– may not be so common after all. Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have discovered that this glamorous cephalopod possesses a pair of stripes that can sparkle ...

Origins of genomic 'dark matter' discovered

A duo of scientists at Penn State University has achieved a major milestone in understanding how genomic "dark matter" originates. This "dark matter"—called non-coding RNA—does not contain the blueprint for making proteins ...

Fungal sex can generate new drug resistant, virulent strains

Though some might disagree, most biologists think the purpose of sex is to create diversity among offspring. Such diversity underpins evolution, enabling organisms to acquire new combinations of traits to adapt to their environment.

Sterile farmed salmon can reduce genetic impact on wild fish

Interbreeding between escaped farmed salmon and their wild counterparts is a major headache for the aquaculture industry. Now Norwegian fish farming companies are raising one million sterile salmon in sea cages – for the ...

A skeleton for chromosomes

Researchers at the IMP Vienna discovered that cohesin stabilizes DNA. Jan-Michael Peters and his team at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) found that the structure of Chromosomes is supported by a kind of ...

An arms-race with mutual benefits

When you hear the word "mutations", you probably think of something negative like heritable diseases. But mutations also mean genetic diversity and are at the centre of evolution. Researchers have now uncovered a surprisingly ...

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