DNA Jumps Directly from the Cell’s Chloroplasts into its Nucleus
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…
Biology News
Relationships of Male Dolphins from Shark Bay Determined by Slow Swimming
In Shark Bay, Australia, the male dolphins are well known to marine biologists for their messy social entanglements. These relationships are so unique, that they’re…
Immune System May Trigger Melanoma Growth
Findings suggest that our own immune system may be working against us when it comes to protection from skin cancer. The scientists found that in…
Human Presence Increases Indoor Bacteria
Bacteria are everywhere and in much larger amounts than you may realize. A new study looks at how much a lone human presence affects the…
Birth Ratios Skew Towards More Females During Famine
In China, during the Chinese Great Leap Forward famine, the male to female birth ratios fell significantly. This implies that whenever food is in short…
Rise in Allergies Linked to Widespread Antibiotic Use to Combat Bacteria
It seems that allergic diseases have reached an almost pandemic level. That’s what a new study states in the journal Nature Medicine. Allergies are caused…
Rational Thinking Ruled Out as Reason for Children’s Selective Imitation
It turns out that infants might not be using rational thinking as a reason for selective imitation. A new study suggests that observed differences in…
Obese Children with Genetic Variants Susceptible to Fatty Liver Disease
While conducting a study on liver disease in children, researchers from the Yale School of Medicine found that a common genetic variant was associated with…
Black Band Disease Puts Great Barrier Reef at Risk
The Great Barrier Reef is under attack by a disease and new data shows that the Black Band Disease can migrate at a rate fast…
NOD2 Pathway Helps Activate T Cells
Researchers now have a better understanding of how dendritic cells address specific types of infections. By using a protein called NOD2, the scientists were able…
First 3-D Interaction Images of Vitamin B12 During Methyltransfer
A newly published report documents the first full 3-D images of B12 interacting with other molecules during the reaction known as methyltransfer. This reaction is…
BP Oil Spill Could be Responsible for the Death of Gulf Dolphins
According to new data from 2011 NOAA tests, bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico are underweight, anemic, have low blood sugar and/or some symptoms…
Mutated Protein Allows Flu’s Lethality in Some Patients
The flu can be lethal in some patients, but benign in others. The reason that this is the way that flu infections work might be…
Infrared Spectroscopy Analyzes Proteins in Picoseconds
By building on a technology known as two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy, scientists at MIT have developed a way to analyze proteins that doesn’t require any pre-treatment….
Native Hawaiian Vertebrate Species Reported Extinct
Scientists have confirmed that there have been no sightings of the copper striped blue-tailed skink in the Hawaiian Islands since the 1960s and are now…
VPM1002 Tuberculosis Vaccine in Phase II Trial
It’s hard to believe that the only tuberculosis vaccine currently available is over 90 years old. Since the BCG vaccine only protects young children, scientists…
Faster and Cheaper Genomics Technique Ready for Takeoff
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…
Reactivation of the Hippocampus Causes Memory Recall
Lost memories may be a thing of the past as neuroscientists conduct research on mice to test memory recall. By using optogenetics and stimulating the…