While exposure to low-dose-rate radiation from cosmic radiation and natural radioactive isotopes in the environment is part of everyday life, a new study from MIT measures the genetic damage of low doses of radiation delivered over a long period of time. A new study from MIT scientists suggests that the guidelines governments use to determine [...]

Newly published research from biochemists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine describes how a protein that is required for DNA replication, Cdt1, also plays an important role in mitosis. Chapel Hill, North Carolina – The foundation of biological inheritance is DNA replication – a tightly coordinated process in which DNA is simultaneously [...]

Bioengineers at UCLA developed a deformability cytometer to better understand the physical properties of cells, which may prove very useful in the fight against diseases such as cancer. The device works by slamming cells against a wall of fluid and quickly analyzing the physical response, allowing for the identification of cell states without expensive chemical [...]

Over the years antibiotics have saved many lives, but scientists never fully understood the process of how bacteria were killed, until now. A new study reveals that penicillin and other antibiotics produce destructive molecules that fatally damage bacterial DNA through a long chain of cellular events. This research may prove useful for scientists working on [...]

By subjecting cells to high selection pressure in a laboratory setting, researchers at Max Planck Institute were able to fast-forward gene transfer from the chloroplasts into the nucleus and found that DNA jumps directly from the cell’s chloroplasts into its nucleus without the involvement of RNA. Chloroplasts, the plant cell’s green solar power generators, were [...]

A new genomics technique developed at Cornell University is roughly 50 times cheaper than comparable methods. The cost effectiveness of this new method, called Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS), is a strong driving point, but its simplicity is also responsible for its growing interest with researchers. Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS), a powerful new technique developed at Cornell, is leveling the [...]

A new discovery of three unique non-repetitive microDNA sequences was made by a team of researchers at the University of North Carolina. Their research shows that during DNA replication, occasionally the copying process eliminates little snippets of DNA as circles and leaves behind microdeletions in the chromosomes. CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina – Researchers from the [...]

According to new research, house mice (Mus musculus) are ideal biomarkers of human settlement as they tend to stow away in crates or on ships that end up going where people go. The published paper goes on to state that mice hitched a ride with the Vikings and set up colonies in areas such as [...]

Scientists continue to improve upon nanotechnology and find new uses for it. By designing a custom integrated circuit using commercial semiconductor technology, researchers have developed a device that can measure nanopores with less error than commercial instruments and can see single molecules passing through the pore in only one microsecond. As nanotechnology becomes ever more [...]

Experiments show that scouting bees, much like novelty-seeking humans, have differences in brain activity in genes related to dopamine and glutamate signaling between neurons. Genomic analysis of the bees revealed significant differences between scouts and non-scouts in the abundance of specific mRNAs and researchers were able to increase and decrease the bees scouting tendencies by [...]

The yet unnamed amphibian was discovered by a team of researchers in the ponds and marshes of Staten Island, mainland New York, and New Jersey. Using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA data, the researchers compared the new frog to all other leopard frog species in the region and determined that it is an entirely new species, [...]

For the first time, scientists have been able to identify a way to correct mutations in human mitochondrial DNA by targeting corrective RNAs. The published report describes the role polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPASE) plays in regulating the import of RNA into mitochondria and with reduced PNPASE, unprocessed mitochondrial-encoded RNAs accumulated, protein translation was inhibited and energy [...]