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Deep Sea Brittle Stars Reveal Unexpected Global Connectivity

A world-first study led by Museums Victoria Research Institute has revealed that beneath the cold, dark, pressurised world of the deep sea, marine life is far more globally connected than previously imagined.

24 Jul 2025

Researchers Identify Gene Duplications That May Shape the Human Brain

What makes the human brain distinctive? A new study published July 21 in Cell identifies two genes linked to human brain features and provides a road map to discover many more.

23 Jul 2025

Study Reveals Hidden Function of So-Called Junk DNA

A new international study suggests that ancient viral DNA embedded in our genome, which were long dismissed as genetic "junk", may actually play powerful roles in regulating gene expression.

21 Jul 2025

Simple Models Reveal Soil’s Complex Microbial Conversations

Just like any living organism, the soil has its own metabolism. Plants, worms, insects, and most importantly, microorganisms in the soil, break down organic matter, consume and generate nutrients, and process other materials to give the soil a life of its own.

18 Jul 2025

Synthetic Cells Offer New Clues About the Origins of Life

At some point during the evolution of life on Earth, inorganic matter became organic, nonliving matter became living. How this happened is one of humankind's greatest mysteries.

18 Jul 2025

Paternal miRNAs Play Unexpected Role in Seed Viability and Embryogenesis

By using targeted gene silencing in different pollen cell types, the study reveals that disrupting DCL1 function either in the vegetative cell or in sperm cells leads to defective seed formation.

14 Jul 2025

Scientists Uncover How New Genes Are Switched On in Fruit Flies

Most genes are ancient and shared across species. But a small subset of genes are relative newcomers, spontaneously emerging from stretches of DNA that once encoded nothing at all.

14 Jul 2025

LINE1 Retrotransposon Found to Exploit Dormant Protein in Human Cells

An international research team led by Freiburg biologists Dr. Wenjing Qi and Prof. Ralf Baumeister has discovered how the LINE1 retrotransposon exploits a cell protein to become active itself, as occurs in tumors.

14 Jul 2025

SNAP-tag2 System Improves Protein Imaging with Faster, Brighter Labeling

SNAP-tag2 boosts live-cell imaging with faster labeling, brighter fluorescence, and better protein tracking across biological systems.

11 Jul 2025

Bacteria Show Unexpected Flexibility in Building Their Cell Walls

Closely related bacterial species use different strategies to build their cell walls, an international team of scientists led by Université de Montréal microbiology professor Yves Brun has found.

10 Jul 2025

Improved Bacterial Rubisco Offers Hope for Enhancing Plant Photosynthesis

During photosynthesis, an enzyme called rubisco catalyzes a key reaction - the incorporation of carbon dioxide into organic compounds to create sugars.

8 Jul 2025

Cryo-EM Uncovers How Tiny Protein Enzyme Precisely Trims tRNA

To build proteins, cells rely on a molecule called transfer RNA, or tRNA. tRNAs act like protein-building couriers, where they read the genetic instructions from messenger RNA, mRNA, and deliver the right amino acids to ribosomes, the cell's protein-making factories.

8 Jul 2025

New Framework for Plant Adaptation and Ecosystem Resilience

Understanding plant-microbiome dynamics offers insights into stress adaptation, crucial for sustainable agriculture and ecosystem resilience.

8 Jul 2025

New Multi Omics Database Advances Chrysanthemum Research and Breeding

The Asteraceae family boasts more than 25,000 species, with chrysanthemums ranking among its most iconic and economically valuable members. Having been cultivated for over three millennia in China and beyond, these plants hold deep cultural, medicinal, and horticultural significance.

4 Jul 2025

Mapping Thousands of Conserved Gene Groups Across Grasses

A new computational biology pipeline has mapped out over 13,000 groups of protein-coding genes conserved across grasses, offering a powerful tool for researchers investigating gene function in these economically and ecologically vital species.

2 Jul 2025

New Clues Reveal How Multicellularity Evolved in Early Animals

Animals, from worms and sponges to jellyfish and whales, contain anywhere from a few thousand to tens of trillions of nearly genetically identical cells.

2 Jul 2025

New Chordata Olfactory Receptor Database Offers Insight into the Genetics of Scent

Olfactory receptors (ORs) are key to how animals perceive their surroundings, guiding behaviors like foraging, mating, and avoiding danger.

1 Jul 2025

Genetic Ancestry Tied to Immune Response in Dengue Infection

For the first time, the extreme variability in dengue fever has been linked to a biological mechanism, potentially opening doors to new treatments and vaccines for the most common mosquito-borne disease worldwide.

1 Jul 2025

Worm Species Reveal Deep Genetic Similarities Across Evolutionary Time

Two species of worms, separated by 20 million years of evolution, have been found to activate their genes in nearly identical ways as they develop from a single cell to a fully formed organism.

27 Jun 2025

Fusion Genes Emerge as Key Drivers in Cancer Development

Fusion genes, arising from abnormal chromosomal rearrangements, are gaining recognition as pivotal players in cancer development. These genetic alterations result in the creation of hybrid genes with altered functions, often driving tumor progression.

25 Jun 2025