PHYSorg

New images of an enzyme in action as it interacts with the chromosome could provide important insight into how cells—including cancer cells—regulate their genes.

A team led by Oregon State University scientists has developed a way to potentially thwart the spread of a disease-causing bacterium that harms more than hundred plant species worldwide, an advance that could save the nursery industry billions of dollars a…

Every year, an estimated 48 million Americans get sick from foodborne illnesses, resulting in some 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This public health problem is compounded by billions…

For a sperm to fertilize an egg, the sperm must first mature in a man's epididymis. Now, an international team of researchers has identified a chain of events in which a protein secreted by the testis travels in the luminal fluid, binds to a receptor on the…

Transcription of genetic information is a fundamental process for life. If it does not work correctly, the consequences for the organism range from lethality to defects during development, genetic diseases, insufficient response to infections and stresses or…

A research group from the Institute of Molecular Embryology and Genetics (IMEG) at Kumamoto University, Japan has discovered that the gene C19ORF57 plays a critical role in meiosis. The gene appears to be related to the cause of male infertility and could be a…

Parents pass genes along to their offspring traits that equip them for life. In recent years, research has shown that the reality is much more complex and that parents endow much more than just genes. A new study in Cell by the laboratory of Asifa Akhtar at…

We are all unique. Our health is determined by our inherent genetic differences combined with our lifestyles and the environments in which we live. This unique identity means that a "one size fits all" approach is no longer accepted as the best way to manage…

Harmful bacteria react less and less to common antibiotics. The infections they cause are therefore increasingly deadly. World health therefore urgently needs alternative antibacterial agents. "Our VersaTile platform gives the development of new antibiotics a…

A team of scientists from Stanford University is working with researchers at the Molecular Foundry, a nanoscience user facility located at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), to develop a gene-targeting, antiviral…

In the last two decades, the life sciences have seen a growing partnership with information technology. The main drive behind this is the need to process and integrate enormous volumes of data from different fields including genetics, biochemistry, cell and…

Cultivated soybeans were domesticated from wild soybeans in China over a period of 5,000 years, and then widely spread all over the world. Soybean has been a major, multiuse crop that globally makes up 56% of oilseed production and more than 25% of the protein…

A pair of researchers, one with Newcastle University in the U.K, the other the National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C., has captured video footage of a cephalopod at the deepest ocean level ever observed. In their paper published in the journal…

The polar willow (Salix polaris) may not seem like much when you look at it—just a jumble of tiny green leaves in a dense mat that pokes out of the tundra.

Researchers report that the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, has become more abundant across Illinois in the past three decades. Its spread is problematic, as the mosquito can transmit diseases—like chikungunya or dengue fever—to humans.

In "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams, the haughty supercomputer Deep Thought is asked whether he can find the answer to the ultimate question concerning life, the universe and everything. He replies that, yes, he can do it, but it's…

Meningococci are bacteria that can cause life-threatening meningitis and sepsis. These pathogens use a small protein with a large impact: The RNA-binding protein ProQ is involved in the activation of more than 250 bacterial genes.

In the famous words of movie character Forrest Gump, "Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get."

Pangolins are one of the most illegally trafficked animals on the planet and are suspected to be linked to the current coronavirus pandemic.

A type of plant grafting that requires a tremendous amount of precision and skill has now been made faster and easier thanks to a simple transparent container. Researchers at Nagoya University have developed a micrografting device that guides seedling growth…

The yellow-billed cuckoo has soft brown wings, a white belly, a long tail with black and white spots, and is running out of places to live. The cuckoo's population in its native breeding range in the eastern United States has declined in recent decades due to…

Indiscriminate feeding by an alien population of the carnivorous spotted-thighed frog—could severely affect the native biodiversity of southern Australia according to a new study by the University of South Australia.

A group of scientists from CECAD has found a mechanism by which neurodevelopmental diseases concerning neurons can be explained. The loss of a certain enzyme, UBE2K, impedes the differentiation of stem cells by silencing the expression of genes important for…

The Latin name for brook trout—Salvelinus fontinalis—means "speckled fish of the fountains," but a new study by Penn State researchers suggests, for the first time, that the larger streams and rivers those fountains, or headwaters, flow into may be just as…

Translocation is an important management tool used for nearly 100 years to increase bighorn sheep population numbers in Wyoming and to restore herds to suitable habitat throughout their historical range. Yet, translocation also can alter the underlying genetic…

Dominance rank among female mountain gorillas is not related to body size but does increase their reproductive output according to research publishing June 3, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, led by Edward Wright from the Max Planck Institute for…

Researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) have discovered a system that provides cells with information about their position within developing organs. This system, studied in developing limbs, tells cells what anatomical…

Van Andel Institute scientists have for the first time described the near-atomic level structure of a molecular pathway that plays critical roles in human development, blood pressure regulation, inflammation and cell death. The findings were published today in…

Van Andel Institute scientists have revealed the first known atomic structure of a "molecular machine" responsible for installing critical signaling proteins into cellular membranes.

Living in an essentially zero-gravity environment, many deep-sea animals have evolved soft, gelatinous bodies and collect food using elaborate mucus filters. Until now, studying these delicate structures has been virtually impossible. A new study published in…