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Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a biologically important type of molecule that consists of a long chain of nucleotide units. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous base, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate.

New tool shows how microbes influence health and promote diseases

Scientists from the Quadram Institute and Earlham Institute have developed a unique tool that is helping them to translate the complex communication that takes place between the body and the microbiome.

25 May 2020

Genetic 'memory' of ancestral homelands helps organisms adapt to environmental change

Organisms carry long-term "memories" of their ancestral homelands that help them adapt to environmental change, according to a new study that involved raising chickens on the Tibetan Plateau and an adjacent lowland site.

22 May 2020

Study shows senotherapy blunts the progression of liver tumors

According to a new study performed by researchers, “senotherapy” blunts the progression of liver tumor in animal models.

22 May 2020

Texas A&M lab produces 3D-bioprinted bone tissues

Dr. Akhilesh K. Gaharwar, associate professor, has developed a highly printable bioink as a platform to generate anatomical-scale functional tissues. This study was recently published in the American Chemical Society's Applied Materials and Interfaces.

20 May 2020

MicroRNAs play a key role in regulating the function of immune cells

According to a recent study, the ability of the immune system to mobilize specialized cells to fight against infections depends partly on small molecules.

19 May 2020

Scientists develop a new way to reactivate silenced genes

All cells in an organism are known to have the same genetic data but not all carry out the same function. This is because all the cells do not contain the same active genes.

19 May 2020

Scientists study how brain cancer cells acquire radiation resistance

In a vertical climb to avoid collision with a towering mountain, a plane ejects cargo to gain altitude. Investigators at the University of Minnesota showed that cancer cells perform similar feats in escaping the killing effects of radiation.

18 May 2020

Researchers develop a reliable technique for assessing the role of lncRNAs

The discovery of a huge number of long non-protein coding RNAs, aka lncRNAs, in the mammalian genome was a major surprise of the recent large-scale genomics projects.

18 May 2020

Aging neurons build up DNA damage, study finds

MIT neuroscientists have discovered that an enzyme called HDAC1 is critical for repairing age-related DNA damage to genes involved in memory and other cognitive functions.

18 May 2020

Researchers discover group of genes with altered expression in autism

Autism has long been associated only with behavioral and environmental factors, but the role of genetics in its development is now increasingly evident. Some 100 genes have been found to play a role in autism spectrum disorder, and another thousand are being studied to the same end.

15 May 2020

Mouse model helps track organism’s development, cell by cell

Scientists at the Stem Cell Research program at Boston Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School have devised a mouse model that lets researchers track every cell in the body, from the embryonic stage until adulthood.

15 May 2020

Coronavirus attacking microRNA numbers reduce with age

A group of tiny RNA that should attack the virus causing COVID-19 when it tries to infect the body are diminished with age and chronic health problems, a decrease that likely helps explain why older individuals and those with preexisting medical conditions are vulnerable populations, investigators report.

14 May 2020

Study reveals proteins that sustain cancer cells

Scientists from the University of Copenhagen have identified two major functions of the protein known as RTEL1 during cell division, in a recently performed study.

14 May 2020

Single-cell gene expression studies can shed more light on disrupted genes

Scientists can gain a better understanding of the cellular roles of the disrupted gene by disturbing the expression of a specific gene and tracking how this change has an impact on the expression of other types of genes.

13 May 2020

The microbiome regulates our immune system's fitness

Working alongside colleagues in Mainz, Bern, Hannover and Bonn, researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Berlin Institute of Health and the German Rheumatism Research Center Berlin were able to show how the microbiome helps to render the immune system capable of responding to pathogens.

13 May 2020