Cell & Microbiology news

Introns: A mystery renewed

Introns: A mystery renewed

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Dec 10, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 0

The sequences of nonsense DNA that interrupt genes could be far more important to the evolution of genomes than previously thought, according to a recent Science report by Indiana University Bloomington and ...


Only a small number of so-called giant viruses have been discovered, the first in 1993 by accident

New giant virus discovered

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Dec 09, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (19) | comments 8

Scientists in France have isolated a new giant virus that lurks inside amoeba and whose gene pool includes genetic material from other species.


Newly explored bacteria reveal some huge RNA surprises

Newly explored bacteria reveal some huge RNA surprises

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Dec 02, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (12) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Yale University researchers have found very large RNA structures within previously unstudied bacteria that appear crucial to basic biological functions such as helping viruses infect cells ...


Computational microscope peers into the working ribosome

Computational microscope peers into the working ribosome (w/ Video)

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 23, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (9) | comments 2

Two new studies reveal in unprecedented detail how the ribosome interacts with other molecules to assemble new proteins and guide them toward their destination in biological cells. The studies used molecular ...


neuron

To make memories, new neurons must erase older ones

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 12, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (8) | comments 0

Short-term memory may depend in a surprising way on the ability of newly formed neurons to erase older connections. That's the conclusion of a report in the November 13th issue of the journal Cell that provid ...


New explanation for nature's hardiest life form

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 12, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (8) | comments 0

Got food poisoning? The cause might be bacterial spores, en extremely hardy survival form of bacteria, a nightmare for health care and the food industry and an enigma for scientists. Spore-forming bacteria, present almost ...


Antarctic lake

Antarctic lake home to diverse community of viruses

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 11, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (17) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- A study of the genetic structure of viruses in an Antarctic lake has revealed an astonishing genetic richness in the large number of viral families discovered.


Scientists successfully reprogram blood cells

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 09, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 0

Researchers have transplanted genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells into mice so that their developing red blood cells produce a critical lysosomal enzyme -preventing or reducing organ and central nervous system damage ...


Study shows that some malignant tumors can be shut down after all

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 09, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (8) | comments 1

Oncologists have had their hands tied because more than half of all human cancers have mutations that disable a protein called p53. As a critical anti-cancer watchdog, p53 masterminds several cancer-fighting operations within ...


Unraveling the mechanisms behind organ regeneration in zebrafish

Unraveling the mechanisms behind organ regeneration in zebrafish

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 02, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 1

The search for the holy grail of regenerative medicine -- the ability to "grow back" a perfect body part when one is lost to injury or disease -- has been under way for years, yet the steps involved in this ...


Scientists turn stem cells into precursors for sperm, eggs

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Oct 28, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Human embryonic stem cells derived from excess IVF embryos may help scientists unlock the mysteries of infertility for other couples struggling to conceive, according to new research from the Stanford University School of ...


Stretching the Golgi: a link between form and function

Stretching the Golgi: a link between form and function

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Oct 15, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (18) | comments 0

A research team at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has provided a surprisingly simple explanation for the mechanism and features of the "Golgi apparatus" - a structure that has baffled ...


Researchers discover RNA repair system in bacteria

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Oct 12, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (6) | comments 0

In new papers appearing this month in Science and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of Illinois biochemistry professor Raven H. Huang and his colleagues describe the first RNA repair system to be ...


Team reports major step forward in cell reprogramming

Team reports major step forward in cell reprogramming

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Oct 08, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (18) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers has made a major advance toward producing induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, that are safe enough to use in treating diseases ...


Planet's nitrogen cycle overturned by 'tiny ammonia eater of the seas'

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Sep 30, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (12) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- It's not every day you find clues to the planet's inner workings in aquarium scum. But that's what happened a few years ago when University of Washington researchers cultured a tiny organism from the bottom ...