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Historical view of sweet corn plant density tolerance suggests an opportunity for improvement

New research from the University of Illinois shows sweet corn, when planted at high densities, has steadily increased in yield since the 1930s.

8 Oct 2021

Researchers identify the mechanism leading to deafness in Norrie disease

A team of Mass Eye and Ear Scientists led by Albert Edge, PhD, working with research fellow Yushi Hayashi, MD, PhD, has identified the mechanism that can lead to deafness in the rare syndrome, Norrie disease.

6 Oct 2021

Gene expression changes help understand the mechanism behind noise-induced hearing loss

A growing number of people are suffering from hearing loss due to exposure to loud noises from heavy machinery, concerts, or explosions. As a result, scientists have been working to understand the mechanism behind how the damage to hearing actually occurs.

30 Sep 2021

Old habit-controlling neurons may also play a key role in learning new tricks

Imagine working on your computer and typing the same long password you have used for years to access your email.

26 Aug 2021

Small synthetic molecules could one day cure or prevent COVID-19, herpes

In addition to antibodies and white blood cells, the immune system deploys peptides to fight viruses and other pathogens.

24 Aug 2021

Tiny freshwater floating plant may help scientists to grow better crops

Duckweed, a tiny freshwater floating plant, is an excellent laboratory model for scientists to discover new strategies for growing hardier and more sustainable crops in an age of climate change and global population boom, a Rutgers-led study finds.

From Rutgers University 17 Aug 2021

New technique can map out nearly all of the regulatory switches across a maize genome

Getting a full understanding of how genes are regulated is a major goal of scientists worldwide. Now, a Florida State University professor and his research partners have developed a technique that can map out nearly all of the likely regulatory switches across a genome.

16 Aug 2021

Researchers identify genome sequences of 26 corn strains

Humans adapt through culture and language by transferring knowledge from one generation to the other.

10 Aug 2021

Researchers identify a novel pathomechanism leading to Usher syndrome

Human Usher syndrome (USH) is the most common form of hereditary deaf-blindness. Sufferers can be deaf from birth, suffer from balance disorders, and eventually lose their eyesight as the disease progresses.

12 Jul 2021

Consuming large amounts of daily caffeine may increase the risk of glaucoma

Consuming large amounts of daily caffeine may increase the risk of glaucoma more than three-fold for those with a genetic predisposition to higher eye pressure according to an international, multi-center study.

8 Jun 2021

Study shows that Bubonic Plague had a long-term impact on immune gene expression

A new study shows that the Bubonic Plague has had a long-term impact on immune gene expression.

20 May 2021

Lack of functional GAS2 gene causes severe hearing impairment in mice

A gene called GAS2 plays a key role in normal hearing, and its absence causes severe hearing loss, according to a study led by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

10 May 2021

Study suggests that bubonic plague had long-term impact on human immune genes

Scientists examining the remains of 36 bubonic plague victims from a 16th century mass grave in Germany have found the first evidence that evolutionary adaptive processes, driven by the disease, may have conferred immunity on later generations of people from the region.

7 May 2021

Study reveals genetic mutation associated with exfoliation syndrome

A team of researchers from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's (A*STAR) Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI), as well as Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI), have identified a genetic mutation (functionally defective CYP39A1 gene) associated with exfoliation syndrome, the most common cause of glaucoma.

5 May 2021

Study discovers that mutations in a specific gene cause mitochondrial disease

For the first time, a research team from Monash University has discovered that mutations in a specific gene cause mitochondrial disease.

29 Apr 2021

Ancient shells provide clues to better predict future warming and ocean acidification

Microscopic fossilized shells are helping geologists reconstruct Earth's climate during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a period of abrupt global warming and ocean acidification that occurred 56 million years ago.

9 Mar 2021

Researchers develop genetic patch to eliminate problems in hearing cells

They can hear well up to about forty years old, but then suddenly deafness strikes people with DFNA9. The cells of the inner ear can no longer reverse the damage caused by a genetic defect in their DNA.

3 Mar 2021

Researchers use CRISPR to tinker with corn kernel numbers

Corn--or maize--has changed over thousands of years from weedy plants that make ears with less than a dozen kernels to the cobs packed with hundreds of juicy kernels that we see on farms today. Powerful DNA-editing techniques such as CRISPR can speed up that process.

23 Feb 2021

Marine animals and ecosystems are negatively impacted by human-made noise

Rain falls lightly on the ocean's surface. Marine mammals chirp and squeal as they swim along. The pounding of surf along a distant shoreline heaves and thumps with metronomic regularity.

8 Feb 2021

Scientists show how plants adapt root growth to varying sources of nitrogen

Nitrogen is one of the most essential nutrients for plants. Its availability in the soil plays a major role in plant growth and development, thereby affecting agricultural productivity.

6 Jan 2021