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A Novel Mechanism for Enhancing Root Growth in Response to Drought

Researchers have learned how drought causes plants to modify their root systems so they grow deeper into the ground to reach water reserves.

13 Jan 2025

Is it possible to predict a pathogen’s next move? Novel tool for detecting pathogen fitness says yes!

Phylowave reveals evolutionary dynamics in pathogens, identifying fitness-linked lineages and mutations, essential for effective public health interventions.

13 Jan 2025

Scientists Uncover Key Plant Metabolite to Block Biofilm Development

If your teeth have ever felt fuzzy after skipping a brushing, you've encountered biofilm-a slimy bacterial layer that clings to surfaces. In medical settings, biofilms make infections harder to treat when they form protective shields for bacteria on devices like catheters and implants.

13 Jan 2025

Researchers Discover How Protein Instability Drives Heritable Diseases

Most mutations which cause disease by swapping one amino acid out for another do so by making the protein less stable, according to a massive study of human protein variants published today in the journal Nature.

10 Jan 2025

Neuropilin2 Gene Disruption Impacts Brain Circuitry in Autism and Epilepsy

The gene neuropilin2 encodes a receptor involved in cell-cell interactions in the brain and plays a key role in regulating the development of neural circuits.

10 Jan 2025

UK Biobank to Study Protein Changes Across 600,000 Samples

UK Biobank has today announced the launch of the world's most comprehensive study of the proteins circulating in our bodies, which will transform the study of diseases and their treatments.

10 Jan 2025

Illuminating RNA Function with Innovative Bioluminescent Probes

The molecule that reads the genetic data contained in DNA is called RNA. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have found a method to tag RNA with a glowing bioluminescent molecule, which enables them to track RNA in real time as it travels throughout the body.

10 Jan 2025

Arabidopsis Study Finds that Centromeres Call the Shots in Retrotransposon Integration

Centromeres play a crucial role in cell division, with CENH3 guiding retrotransposon Tal1 integration, revealing insights into genome evolution and stability.

10 Jan 2025

New Gene Editing Tool Combines Multiple Functions for Treating Genetic Diseases

Influential inventions often combine existing tools in new ways. The iPhone, for instance, amalgamated the telephone, web browser and camera, among many other devices.

9 Jan 2025

Echidna Genome Sheds Light on Complex Sex Chromosome Evolution

A nearly gapless genome sequence of the echidna, an egg-laying mammal with multiple sex chromosomes, helps researchers to track genomic reorganization events that gave rise to a highly unusual sex determination system.

9 Jan 2025

Coordinated Behavior in Choanoflagellates Provides Evolutionary Clues

A new study published in Science Advances reveals evidence of electrical signaling and coordinated behavior in choanoflagellates, the closest living relatives of animals.

9 Jan 2025

Rewriting History: Advanced Genetic Analysis Uncovers Ancient Ancestry Shifts in Europe

High-resolution analysis of ancient genomes reveals key Scandinavian ancestry movements in early medieval Europe, highlighting complex genetic interactions.

9 Jan 2025

Researchers Uncover Genetic and Environmental Interplay in Bacterial Growth

Genetic and environmental factors influence cell growth. Although previous studies have evaluated the influence of these factors on growth, conducting studies that assess such factors in a cross-talk manner is necessary.

8 Jan 2025

New Genomic Evidence Sheds Light on Early Migration into Wallacea

A new study from the University of Adelaide and The Australian National University (ANU) has outlined the first genomic evidence of early migration from New Guinea into the Wallacea, an archipelago containing Timor-Leste and hundreds of inhabited eastern Indonesian islands.

8 Jan 2025

Uncovering the Ancient Genetic Secrets of Hornworts

Over 450 million years ago, plants began the epic transition from water to dry land. Among the first pioneers were the ancestors of humble hornworts, a group of small, unassuming plants that have persisted to this day.

7 Jan 2025

Unique CO₂-Concentrating Mechanism Drives the Future of Sustainable Agriculture

Researchers have been exploring methods to enhance the ability of plants to convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) into biomass, a process that could increase crop yields and contribute to climate change mitigation.

7 Jan 2025

Unexpected Role for CDKN2A Gene in Esophageal Cancer Progression

Scientists from the Barts Cancer Institute and the Francis Crick Institute have demonstrated that a genetic flaw that has long been thought to cause esophageal cancer may actually protect against the disease in its early stages.

6 Jan 2025

Genetic Discovery Offers Potential for Higher Crop Yields and Biofuel Production

A team of scientists with two Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Centers -; the Center for Bioenergy Innovation, or CBI, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, or CABBI, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign -; identified a gene in a poplar tree that enhances photosynthesis and can boost tree height by about 30% in the field and by as much as 200% in the greenhouse.

6 Jan 2025

Bacteria in Lake Mendota Evolve with Changing Seasons

Like Bill Murray in the movie "Groundhog Day," bacteria species in a Wisconsin lake are in a kind of endless loop that they can't seem to shake. Except in this case, it's more like Groundhog Year.

6 Jan 2025