The spark that created life

Evolution by Darwinian natural selection is immensely powerful—both in nature and within laboratories. Using 'laboratory evolution', we can take an enzyme which combines random mutations and functional selection, and improve ...

Building blocks of life came from deep Earth

The rise of the first complex life depended on vital metals brought up to the Earth's surface from far below in vast granite deposits, a new study argues.

Acquired traits can be inherited via small RNAs

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have found the first direct evidence that an acquired trait can be inherited without any DNA involvement. The findings suggest that Lamarck, whose theory of evolution ...

Scientists devise algorithm to engineer improved enzymes

Scientists have prototyped a new method for "rationally engineering" enzymes to deliver improved performance. They have devised an algorithm, which takes into account an enzyme's evolutionary history, to flag where mutations ...

Team develops psoriasis drug

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers, in collaboration with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., have developed a promising drug candidate to treat psoriasis. The finding was reported in a new paper published ...

Flexible throughout life by varying numbers of chromosome copies

Baker's yeast is a popular test organism in biology. Yeasts are able to duplicate single chromosomes reversibly and thereby adapt flexibly to environmental conditions. Scientists from the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine ...

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