A defective operating system is never a good thing. Like computers, our cells depend on operating systems to drive normal functions. Gene expression programs comprise the software code our cells rely on, with each cell type controlled by its own program. Corrupted programs can trigger disease…
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Filed under: Biology on February 3rd, 2012 | No Comments »
A photograph of a polar bear in captivity, no matter how sharp the resolution, can never reveal as much about behavior as footage of that polar bear in its natural habitat. The behavior of cells and molecules can prove even more elusive…
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Filed under: Biology on February 3rd, 2012 | No Comments »
Cells rely on purines, which are types of molecules that make up half of the DNA and RNA building blocks, and are a key component of the chemicals that store a cell’s energy in order to perform many vital functions. The purine supply is strictly controlled by the cells, with any disruption likely to cause […]
Filed under: Biology on January 31st, 2012 | No Comments »
Bypassing the stem cell stage, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California converted mouse skin cells directly into neural precursor cells, the cells that go on to form the three main types of cell in the brain and nervous system. They write about their findings in the 30 […]
Filed under: Biology on January 31st, 2012 | No Comments »
In a study that holds major implications for breast cancer research as well as basic cell biology, scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have discovered a rotational motion that plays a critical role in the ability of breast cells to form the spherical structures in the mammary […]
Filed under: Biology on January 30th, 2012 | No Comments »
Like a magician employing sleight of hand, the protein mitoNEET - a mysterious but important player in diabetes, cancer and aging - draws the eye with a flurry of movement in one location while the subtle, more crucial action takes place somewhere else…
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Filed under: Biology on January 30th, 2012 | No Comments »
Cells trying to keep pace with constantly changing environmental conditions need to strike a fine balance between maintaining their genomic integrity and allowing enough genetic flexibility to adapt to inhospitable conditions…
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Filed under: Biology on January 30th, 2012 | No Comments »
A three-dimensional study of how enzymes in the malaria parasite Plasmodium synthesize essential vitamins, could help develop new drugs to combat the disease. Using electron microscopy, a team of scientists from Germany and the UK studied how the enzymes synthesize Vitamin B6, which has already been proposed as a target for new drugs…
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Filed under: Biology on January 28th, 2012 | No Comments »
All living organisms are made up of cells, behind these intricate life forms lie complex cellular processes that allow our bodies to function. Researchers working on protein secretion - a fundamental process in biology - have revealed how protein channels in the membrane are activated by special signals contained in proteins destined for secretion…
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Filed under: Biology on January 28th, 2012 | No Comments »
Scientists studying ocean microorganisms have encountered something they have never seen before. A marine virus that cons certain photosynthetic bacteria into letting it come inside because it appears to offer a “helping hand” by bringing resources very like their own to help them acquire phosphorus, a nutrient they are desperately short […]
Filed under: Biology on January 26th, 2012 | No Comments »