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Building blocks of DNA and RNA could have co-existed in the primordial Earth

Scientists have long debated which genetic information carrier - DNA or RNA - started life on Earth, but a new study suggests life could have begun with a bit of both.

4 Jun 2020

Researchers evaluate long-term impact of bighorn sheep translocations

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. Y

4 Jun 2020

Research team discovers proteins that regulate interorganelle communication

Korea Brain Research Institute (KBRI headed by Suh Pann-ghill) announced on the 2nd that the joint research team of KBRI (team led by Dr. Mun Ji-young), Seoul National University, and Pohang University of Science and Technology discovered the proteins that engage in the formation of MAM, which is the cellular signaling hub.

4 Jun 2020

ETH researchers uncover a complex plant-bacteria interaction

Plants need nitrogen in the form of ammonium if they are to grow. In the case of a great many cultivated plants, farmers are obliged to spread this ammonium on their fields as fertilizer.

4 Jun 2020

Researchers deconstruct complex mechanisms that control tissue repair

ETH researchers have deconstructed the mechanisms that control wound healing and scar formation in more detail.

4 Jun 2020

Review reveals exceptions to the purported rules of sex chromosome evolution theory

For nearly a century, biologists have modeled the evolution of sex chromosomes--the genetic instructions that primarily determine whether an individual will develop into a male or female (or a certain mating type)--resulting in an impressive theoretical framework.

4 Jun 2020

Study identifies gene responsible for eye loss in cavefish

Mexican cavefish spend their entire lives in the dark. With no need for vision, many of them lost functional eyes.

3 Jun 2020

Bacteria that live in soil and on people have widespread antibiotic-destroying genes

The latest generation of tetracyclines - a class of powerful, first-line antibiotics - was designed to thwart the two most common ways bacteria resist such drugs.

3 Jun 2020

Researchers unravel mechanisms behind organ-specific elimination of chromosomes in plants

Whilst we often think of somatic cells in an organism as containing the same DNA and therefore the same number of chromosomes, it is surprising, how often this is not the case.

3 Jun 2020

Researchers propose measures to increase the reproducibility of experiments

For some scientific disciplines, such as medical or drug research, experiments with live animals are still indispensable.

3 Jun 2020

Study takes important step forward to understand the chemical origins of life

Researchers have long sought to understand the origins of life on Earth. A new study conducted by scientists at the Institute for Advanced Study, the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), and the University of New South Wales, among other participating institutions, marks an important step forward in the effort to understand the chemical origins of life.

3 Jun 2020

Dramatic increase in immune cells in mouse lungs after birth may help protect against infections

An explosion in the number and types of immune cells in the lungs of newborn mice likely helps them adapt to breathing and protects them from infection, says a new study published today in eLife.

3 Jun 2020

UCL scientists discover genes responsible for maintaining healthy hearing

Scientists at UCL have discovered sets of regulatory genes, which are responsible for maintaining healthy hearing. The finding, made in fruit flies, could potentially lead to treatments for age-related hearing loss (ARHL) in humans.

From University College London 3 Jun 2020

Approach used against flu could benefit COVID-19 drug development

A new study from researchers at The University of Texas at Austin has found that some antivirals are useful for more than helping sick people get better -- they also can prevent thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of virus cases if used in the early stages of infection.

3 Jun 2020

Scientists decode ancient DNA extracted from Dead Sea Scrolls

An interdisciplinary team from Tel Aviv University, led by Prof. Oded Rechavi of TAU's George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Prof. Noam Mizrahi of TAU's Department of Biblical Studies, in collaboration with Prof. Mattias Jakobsson of Uppsala University in Sweden, the Israel Antiquities Authority and Prof. Christopher E. Mason of Weill Cornell Medicine, has successfully decoded ancient DNA extracted from the animal skins on which the Dead Sea Scrolls were written.

3 Jun 2020

Study identifies key protein required for optimal immune responses to cancer

A new study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute has identified a protein within certain immune cells that is required for optimal immune responses to cancer.

3 Jun 2020