Blog

  • Adaptive defenses against malicious jumping genes

    Adaptive defenses against malicious jumping genes

    Adverse genetic mutations can cause harm and are due to various circumstances. “Jumping genes” are one cause of mutations, but cells try and combat them with a specialized RNA called piRNA. For the first time, researchers from the University of Tokyo and their collaborators have identified how the sites responsible for piRNA production evolve effective behaviors against jumping genes. This research could lead to downstream diagnostic or therapeutic applications.

    The word mutation can mean…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • How family background can help lead to athletic success

    How family background can help lead to athletic success

    Americans have long believed that sports are one area in society that offers kids from all backgrounds the chance to succeed to the best of their abilities.

    But new research suggests that this belief is largely a myth, and that success in high school and college athletics often is influenced by race and gender, as well as socioeconomic status, including family wealth and education.

    “We often think about sports as level playing fields that reward people who earn their success, but that’s not…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Breakthrough molecular movie reveals DNA’s unzipping mechanism with implications for viral and cancer treatments

    Breakthrough molecular movie reveals DNA’s unzipping mechanism with implications for viral and cancer treatments

    Scientists at the University of Leicester have captured the first detailed “molecular movie” showing DNA being unzipped at the atomic level — revealing how cells begin the crucial process of copying their genetic material.

    The groundbreaking discovery, published in the journal Nature, could have far-reaching implications, helping us to understand how certain viruses and cancers replicate.

    Using cutting edge cryo-electron microscopy, the team of scientists were able to visualise a helicase…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • The cell’s powerhouses: Molecular machines enable efficient energy production

    The cell’s powerhouses: Molecular machines enable efficient energy production

    Mitochondria are the powerhouses in our cells, producing the energy for all vital processes. Using cryo-electron tomography, researchers at the University of Basel, Switzerland, have now gained insight into the architecture of mitochondria at unprecedented resolution. They discovered that the proteins responsible for energy generation assemble into large “supercomplexes,” which play a crucial role in providing the cell’s energy.

    Most living organisms on our planet-whether plants, animals, or…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Beating the clock: Melanoma starts evading treatment within hours — here’s how to stop it

    Beating the clock: Melanoma starts evading treatment within hours — here’s how to stop it

    Researchers have uncovered a stealth survival strategy that melanoma cells use to evade targeted therapy, offering a promising new approach to improving treatment outcomes.

    The study, published in Cell Systems and conducted by researchers at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) identifies a non-genetic, reversible adaptation mechanism that allows melanoma cells to survive treatment with BRAF inhibitors. By identifying and blocking this early…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • New function discovered for protein important in leukemia

    New function discovered for protein important in leukemia

    Researchers from Northwestern University have stumbled upon a previously unobserved function of a protein found in the cell nuclei of all flora and fauna. In addition to exporting materials out of the nucleus, the protein, called Exportin-1 (also called Xpo1 or Crm1), seems to play a role in promoting gene transcription, the process that creates RNA replicas of strands of DNA to express genes.

    Transcription factors, which regulate transcription, can also direct genes to interact with the…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Scenes from a Ramadan massacre

    Scenes from a Ramadan massacre

    On Monday evening, Oday Al-Zaigh was catching up with his friend and neighbor, Motasim Zain Eldeen, in central Gaza City. They spoke with pride about how the residents of their neighborhood, Al-Moghrabi, had cleaned the streets and rebuilt what they could in recent weeks, trying their best to make it beautiful again after it had been severely damaged by Israeli attacks during 15 months of genocide. After parting ways, Al-Zaigh went to sleep — until he was abruptly…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: www.972mag.com

  • Pediatric Brain Tumor Classification Improves Therapy

    Pediatric Brain Tumor Classification Improves Therapy

    Cancer is the rapid proliferation of malignant cells that permeate tissue and cause dysregulation of the body’s daily functions. Many cancers can be characterized by the mutation cells have and how the tumors behave. Specifically, tumors are graded based on location and aggressive nature, which informs physicians of tumor resistance to therapy. Unfortunately, there are various tumor types and each one can respond differently in a patient. Many…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: www.labroots.com

  • Immune Cell Mechanism Improves Antibody Production

    Immune Cell Mechanism Improves Antibody Production

    Our immune system works to fight infections immediately, but also maintain long-term immunity. Two waves of protection help neutralize and eliminate disease, including the innate and adaptive immune responses. Innate immunity comprises of non-specific immune cells that recognize an invading pathogen and activate a broad response. This first wave of protection is responsible for initial inflammation and notifying the rest of the body of infection. The…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: www.labroots.com

  • Lives shattered in Tulkarem amid Israel’s escalating military assault in the West Bank – Mondoweiss

    Lives shattered in Tulkarem amid Israel’s escalating military assault in the West Bank – Mondoweiss

    On the morning of February 9, the al-Ashqar family sat in terrified silence as news spread of the Israeli military’s advance into their neighborhood in Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem.

    Unbeknownst to them, Israeli forces had planted a bomb at their front door — an explosive device that would soon take the life of 21-year-old Rahaf al-Ashqar, one of over 70 Palestinians killed during Israel’s ongoing assault on the northern West Bank.

    Her father, Fuad al-Ashqar, recalled…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: mondoweiss.net