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…
Genetics News
Stickleback Fish Used Pre-Existing Genes to Go from Saltwater to Freshwater Environments
New research pinpoints to certain mutations that may have helped the stickleback, a tiny armored fish, to evolve quickly between saltwater and freshwater forms. Since…
Genetic Clues to Van Gogh’s Teddy Bear Sunflower Florets Uncovered
The famous Dutch impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh was obsessed with sunflowers, until he died in 1890. His iconic paintings of sunflowers fetch millions of…
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…
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…
New DNA Entity in Mammalian Cells
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…
Similarities Between Acorn Worm and Vertebrate Brain
A new study shows that Saccoglossus kowalevskii, a sea dwelling, bottom-feeding acorn worm, has a similarities to humans although the worms are separated from vertebrates…
Scientists Discover New Type of Extra-Chromosomal DNA
Scientists from the University of Virginia and University of North Carolina have discovered a previously unidentified type of circular DNA molecule occurring outside the chromosomes…
3-D Image Shows How DNA Packs Itself into a “Fractal Globule”
A new imaging technique is giving scientists their first three-dimensional view of the human genome and how DNA is packed inside cells. Research has shown…
Examining the Mechanism Behind Melanoma Drug Resistance
Zelboraf, which targets the mutated BRAF gene, is used to treat melanoma, but it isn’t always successful due to melanoma’s ability to sometimes get around…
Iceman Ötzi’s DNA Reveals Health Risks and Relations
Ötzi’s DNA has finally been sequenced. An international team published the almost complete DNA of the Iceman Ötzi from the Tyrolean Alps in the journal…
Pikaia Gracilens Revealed as Possible Genetic Ancestors to All Vertebrates
The Middle Cambrian Pikaia gracilens, from 505 million years ago, was a fish-like worm, which has the possible dubious distinction of being one of humanity’s…
“Area X” of Zebra Finch May Provide Insights to Human Speech Disorders
The male zebra finch has some 2,000 genes in a region of the brain known as “Area X” that are significantly linked to singing and…
Unlocking Chemical Pathways to Synthesize Chemicals Found in Nature
A new study could enable scientists to synthesize many important chemicals currently found only in nature. The research shows how scientists used powerful X-rays to…
Tyrosine Phosphatase SHP2 and Breast Cancer
A new study identified the protein phosphatase SHP2 as an important player in the signaling cascades governing tumor-initiating cells. The scientists found that SHP2 plays…
Researchers Induce Magnetism to a Non-Magnetic Organism
To better understand the underlying biology of induced magnetization, researchers from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School…
Rare Example of Bacterial Gene Transfer Providing Evolutionary Benefit
A bacterial gene that has been discovered in the genome of the coffee berry borer beetle (Hypothenemus hampei) allows it to occupy a unique ecological…
Researchers Find that Popdc Proteins Help the Heart Adapt to Stress
A new study by scientists at Imperial College London, the University of Birmingham, and the University of Würzburg in Germany examined Popeye domain containing proteins…
