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Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a biologically important type of molecule that consists of a long chain of nucleotide units. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous base, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate.

Genetic Signatures of Neural Progenitor Cells Uncovered in the Adult Brain

For much of the 20th century it was thought that the adult brain was incapable of regeneration. This view has since shifted dramatically and neurogenesis – the birth of new neurons – is now a widely accepted phenomenon in the adult brain, offering promising avenues for treating many neurological conditions.

22 Aug 2025

Genetic Insights from Wild Crop Relatives may Help Secure Future Food Supplies

With climate change and more frequent extreme weather events, researchers predict that global yields of important crops like maize, rice, and soybeans could decline by 12 to 20% by the end of the century.

22 Aug 2025

Salk Researchers Create First Genetic Atlas to Span the Entire Arabidopsis Life Cycle

Nearly everything you know about plants was first discovered in a plant you've likely never heard of. Arabidopsis thaliana, also known as thale cress, is a small, flowering weed that has shaped much of plant biology as we know it.

20 Aug 2025

Breaking Down the Evolutionary Puzzle of the Chaetognath

In a new Nature study, the genomic, epigenomic, and cell-level characteristics of the mysterious arrow worm have been tied together.

19 Aug 2025

Missing Microexons Disrupt Synapse-Related Proteins in Pediatric Glioma

A new study, led by researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), identified tiny pieces of messenger RNA that are missing in pediatric high-grade glioma tumors but not in normal brain tissues.

19 Aug 2025

New Method Enables Human Cells to Initiate Meiosis Outside the Body

More than one-sixth of adults around the world experience infertility in their lifetime. There is a high unmet need not only for increased access to affordable, high-quality fertility care for those in need but, importantly, also for new biomedical solutions that can address the root causes of infertility.

18 Aug 2025

Minimal Plant Genomes Made Possible by New Genetic Strategy

Ancient events in plant evolution have left behind large, duplicated regions in their genomes.

14 Aug 2025

New Water-Based Method Extracts High-Purity Lignin

The Nanoscience Center at the University of Jyväskylä discovered that lignin, a polyphenol vital for plant structure, has an antimicrobial effect against viruses and bacteria.

13 Aug 2025

ISGlobal Develops HTGAnalyzer to Simplify Transcriptomic Data Analysis

The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, has launched HTGAnalyzer, a new, easy-to-use, fast and reproducible bioinformatics tool for advanced transcriptomic data analysis.

11 Aug 2025

Researchers Uncover How Macrophages Respond to Infection Stress

Fighting infections requires speed and accuracy. A team of researchers from CeMM and MedUni Vienna, led by Christoph Bock and Matthias Farlik, explored how macrophages—the body’s initial responders—handle this stress.

11 Aug 2025

New RNA Sequencing Technology Uncovers Molecular Drivers of Cellular Differentiation

Researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, have documented their use of a new RNA sequencing technology to uncover molecular drivers of cellular differentiation that could lead to better regenerative therapies.

8 Aug 2025

Salk Scientists Use CRISPR to Uncover Microproteins Linked to Obesity

The obesity rate has more than doubled in the last 30 years, affecting more than one billion people worldwide.

8 Aug 2025

Smaller Scale Mutations in HNF1A Gene Nudge Millions Toward Type-2 Diabetes

Mutations in a single gene, HNF1A, are known to cause MODY3, a rare, early onset form of diabetes.

7 Aug 2025

Sugarcoated RNA Helps the Body Avoid Autoimmune Reactions

To our immune system, naked RNA is a sign of a viral or bacterial invasion and must be attacked. But our own cells also have RNA.

7 Aug 2025

Parkinson’s Gene Mutation Blocks Vital Neuroprotective Signals

GBA1 mutations impair ciliary Hedgehog signaling in Parkinson's disease, reducing neuroprotective factors and highlighting a shared pathogenic pathway.

7 Aug 2025

Uncovering How Cells Precisely Control Protein Production

It's known as biology's central dogma: All living organisms' genetic information is stored in DNA, which is transcribed into RNA, which is translated into proteins that perform nearly all essential tasks in a cell.

6 Aug 2025

New Computational Tool Reveals How Long Non-Coding RNAs Control Gene Expression

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) are a type of RNA molecule that do not carry instructions to make proteins. Instead, they influence how other genes are expressed.

6 Aug 2025

Small Changes in Brain Enzyme May Have Shaped Modern Human Behavior

The evolutionary success of our species may have hinged on minute changes to our brain biochemistry after we diverged from the lineage leading to Neanderthals and Denisovans about half a million years ago.

5 Aug 2025

AI Tool Accelerates Hunt for Elusive Genome‐Encoded Microproteins

Proteins sustain life as we know it, serving many important structural and functional roles throughout the body.

1 Aug 2025

Mitochondrial Gene Found to Regulate Wood Formation in Poplar

Mitochondria are widely known as the "powerhouses" of the cell, generating the energy needed for life. But in plants, their role goes far beyond metabolism.

31 Jul 2025