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A gene is a unit of heredity in a living organism. It normally resides on a stretch of DNA that codes for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. All living things depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains.

Histone Variants Control DNA Methylation Patterns in Plant Genomes

Histone variants help establish DNA methylation at transposons (jumping genes) while preventing this epigenetic modification from spreading to essential genes in plants, reveals a study from Institute of Science Tokyo.

17 Aug 2026

Study Shows How Compact Viral Structures Boost Protein Yields for mRNA Vaccines

A research team led by Director KIM V. Narry at the Center for RNA Research within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) has discovered compact viral RNA elements that can make mRNA more stable and increase protein production.

17 Aug 2026

Researchers Map Immune Molecule Behavior in Affected Motor Neurons

Immune-related molecules change in motor neurons affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but they do not appear to be major drivers of disease progression.

17 Aug 2026

New Study Links TIMP2 Loss to Microglial Immune Dysfunction

Researchers at The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have identified a role for the youth-associated protein TIMP2 in supporting the healthy function of microglia, the brain's resident immune cells.

17 Aug 2026

New Gene-Expression Based Clocks Better Predict Age-Related Disease and Mortality

What do "epigenetic clocks" actually measure? These lab tests have become popular tools for studying biological aging, or how the body's cellular function changes at a faster or slower rate than expected.

14 Aug 2026

ORBIT Technology Leverages DNA Origami for Next-Generation Biological Discovery

Scientists often describe life as a series of chemical reactions. Pallav Kosuri, PhD, describes life as movement. Chemical reactions are how you drive the movement of atoms, proteins, cells, and bodies-without movement, there is no life.

14 Aug 2026

Study Reveals Previously Unknown Mechanism of RNA Synthesis Shared Across Life Forms

Scientists have long been fascinated by two promising classes of antibiotics that disable RNA polymerase (RNAP).

13 Aug 2026

Study Reveals Why People Are At Greater Risk of Fungal Infections Than Others

A study on Candida albicans uncovers immune mechanisms that prevent systemic infections, emphasizing the role of IL-1 cytokines and neutrophil response.

13 Aug 2026

High Resolution Imaging Exposes Root Causes of Chronic Heart Rejection

A new study that explores gene expression during heart transplant rejection marks a step forward for precision medicine approaches to treat organ rejection.

13 Aug 2026

Genomic Database Analysis Identifies New Target for Triple-Negative Breast Tumors

Triple-negative breast cancer accounts for approximately 15% of all breast cancer cases. It is characterized by the absence of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2 expression, rendering it insensitive to conventional endocrine and targeted therapies.

13 Aug 2026

New Roadmap Fixes Cellular Waste Accumulation to Halt Brain Degeneration

Researchers at University of California San Diego and their colleagues have identified a key cellular pathway that drives brain degeneration in both a rare childhood disorder and the far more common Alzheimer's disease.

13 Aug 2026

Scientists Map Overlapping Fluorescent Proteins Using Advanced Lifetime Microscopy Techniques

Fluorescent protein imaging is an indispensable tool in life science research, enabling visualization of protein movement and localization, gene expression, signaling pathways, protein-protein interactions, and more.

12 Aug 2026

Ancient Mitochondrial Signaling Pathway Regulates Vital Cellular Heme Levels

Heme, a bioactive form of iron, has numerous essential functions in the cell. As a key component of hemoglobin, it enables oxygen transport in the blood.

12 Aug 2026

Neural Stem Cell Protein CCN1 Guides Microglial Distribution During Development

The development of the central nervous system (CNS) depends on the coordinated interactions between neural stem cells (NSCs) and resident immune cells to regulate neurogenesis, tissue organization, and brain maturation.

12 Aug 2026

Researchers Engineer AI Framework to Solve Longstanding Protein Isoform Mystery

A single human gene can produce multiple protein isoforms through alternative splicing, greatly expanding the functional diversity of the proteome.

11 Aug 2026

New Single-Cell Database Reveals Hidden Inner Workings of Spinal Cord Circuits

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital created a single-cell atlas of a key class of spinal neurons involved in motor coordination. From that resource, they identified a small subgroup of interneurons associated with the speed of rhythmic movements such as walking. The findings, which have implications for understanding spinal cord function and recovery from injury, were published today in Nature Communications.

11 Aug 2026

Researchers Uncover Molecular Defenses in Cold-Resilient Loquat

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) is an evergreen fruit tree whose winter growth and flowering make it especially vulnerable to sudden freezes.

10 Aug 2026

Bone Marrow T Cells Exhibit Conditional Preparedness Against Cancer

A team led by researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the HI-STEM Stem Cell Institute, and Medical Clinic V at Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) has characterized T cells in the bone marrow in cases of multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukemia: A specific group of tumor-reactive T cells can recognize and, in principle, fight cancer cells, but is often not sufficiently activated.

10 Aug 2026

3D Genome Mapping in Rare Immune Cells Reveals New Crohn’s Disease Genes

A new study co-led by Prof. Valeriya Malysheva, group leader at the VIB-UAntwerp Center for Molecular Neurology, has been published in Nature Genetics.

10 Aug 2026

Rare Immune Cell Spatial DNA Maps Uncover Hidden Autoimmune Triggers

A new study co-led by Prof. Valeriya Malysheva, group leader at the VIB-UAntwerp Center for Molecular Neurology, has been published in Nature Genetics.

8 Aug 2026