Sunburn in living organisms is caused by ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun damaging the DNA in the cells. Many organisms, however, have an in-built mechanism for repairing the sun damage. This is possible thanks to an enzyme ...
Biochemistry
Jul 12, 2017
0
5
Cryptochromes are light-sensitive molecules that exist in bacteria, plants and animals. In animals, they are involved in the control of the body's circadian rhythms. In birds, cryptochromes are also involved in the light-dependent ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 23, 2016
3
577
Researchers at the UNC School of Medicine have discovered how two genes – Period and Cryptochrome – keep the circadian clocks in all human cells in time and in proper rhythm with the 24-hour day, as well as the seasons. ...
Biotechnology
Sep 14, 2014
0
0
(Phys.org) —Cellular processes in most organisms are regulated by an internal clock, and proteins called cryptochromes are at the core of its central oscillator. The three dimensional structures of cryptochromes from mouse ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 11, 2013
0
0
Farmers and other astute observers of nature have long known that crops like corn and sorghum grow taller at night. But the biochemical mechanisms that control this nightly stem elongation, common to most plants, have been ...
Biotechnology
Jul 13, 2011
0
0
In a new paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Aziz Sancar, MD, PhD, the Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics in the UNC School of Medicine, and his colleagues ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 29, 2010
0
0
Biologists have found that a key protein that regulates the biological clocks of mammals also regulates glucose production in the liver and that altering the levels of this protein can improve the health of diabetic mice.
Biochemistry
Sep 19, 2010
0
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- It has been known for decades that some birds are able to sense the Earth's magnetic field and set their direction as if following a compass heading, which is an extremely useful ability for birds migrating ...
Building on prior investigation into the biological mechanisms through which monarch butterflies are able to migrate up to 2,000 miles from eastern North America to a particular forest in Mexico each year, neurobiologists ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 25, 2010
0
0
Researchers at the University of Illinois report that a toxic molecule known to damage cells and cause disease may also play a pivotal role in bird migration. The molecule, superoxide, is proposed as a key player in the mysterious ...
Other
Jun 22, 2009
0
0
