Biology News

Scientists Find Key to Gene-Silencing Activity Friday, May 10, 2013 - 10:28

A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has found how to boost or inhibit a gene-silencing mechanism that normally serves as a major controller of cells’ activities. The discovery could lead to a powerful new class of drugs against viral infections, cancers and other diseases.

 

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Team Finds Dissimilar Proteins Evolved Similar 7-Part Shape Thursday, May 9, 2013 - 09:31

Solving the structure of a critical human molecule involved in cancer, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found what they call a good example of structural conservation—dissimilar genes that keep very similar shapes.

 

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Traumatized moms avoid tough talks with kids, study shows Monday, May 6, 2013 - 16:31

Mothers who have experienced childhood abuse, neglect or other traumatic experiences show an unwillingness to talk with their children about the child’s emotional experiences, a new study from the University of Notre Dame shows.

 

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Why a wide-eyed expression of fear can be a good thing Thursday, May 2, 2013 - 09:17

Wide-eyed expressions that typically signal fear seem to enlarge our visual field making it easier to spot threats at the same time they enhance the ability of others to locate the source of danger, according to new research from the University of Toronto.

 

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Technology that improves your brain Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - 11:25

Improving brain function is one of the topics explored in the latest issue of Technology and Innovation – Proceedings of the National Academy of Inventors. The special issue, which also contains studies on medical technology and health care delivery, contains two articles on brain health: one on preventing and curing mental illness and one on improving the brain through training.

 

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New Study about Facebook and Romantic Relationships Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - 10:51

A Western Illinois University faculty member who published a widely covered study about Facebook and narcissism last year has authored another study about Facebook and romantic relationships.

 

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Genetic circuit allows both individual freedom, collective good Monday, April 22, 2013 - 12:03

Individual freedom and social responsibility may sound like humanistic concepts, but an investigation of the genetic circuitry of bacteria suggests that even the simplest creatures can make difficult choices that strike a balance between selflessness and selfishness.

 

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Coelacanth genome surfaces Monday, April 22, 2013 - 10:05

An international team of researchers has decoded the genome of a creature whose evolutionary history is both enigmatic and illuminating: the African coelacanth. A sea-cave dwelling, five-foot long fish with limb-like fins, the coelacanth was once thought to be extinct. A living coelacanth was discovered off the African coast in 1938, and since then, questions about these ancient-looking fish – popularly known as “living fossils” – have loomed large. Coelacanths today closely resemble the fossilized skeletons of their more than 300-million-year-old ancestors. Its genome confirms what many researchers had long suspected: genes in coelacanths are evolving more slowly than in other organisms.

 

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