Unlocking secrets of cell reproduction

Research published in Open Biology today identifies, for the first time, nearly all the genes required for reproduction of a cell in a living organism.

Engineering plants for biofuels

With increasing demands for sustainable energy, being able to cost-efficiently produce biofuels from plant biomass is more important than ever. However, lignin and hemicelluloses present in certain plants mean that they cannot ...

Scientists fight back in 'mutant flu' research row

Leading virologists on Wednesday warned of censorship after a US bioterror watchdog asked scientific journals to withhold details of lab work that created a mutant strain of killer flu.

Worms can evolve to survive intersex populations

(PhysOrg.com) -- Sexually reproducing species need at least two sexes in order to produce offspring, but there are many ways that nature produces different sexes. Many animals (including humans and other mammals) use a chromosomal ...

Mutant fungus threatens global wheat supply: scientists

Scientists have identified four new strains of a wheat-killing fungus that could endanger the global food supply, according to research presented Wednesday ahead of a conference in Russia.

Spare gene is fodder for fishes' evolution

Scientists have suspected that spare parts in the genome—extra copies of functional genes that arise when genes or whole genomes get duplicated -- might sometimes provide the raw materials for the evolution of new traits. ...

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