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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.

Scientists Use Single-Cell Proteomics to Track Blood Cell Differentiation

In the past decade there has been significant interest in studying the expression of our genetic code down to the level of single cells, to identify the functions and activities of any cell through the course of health or disease.

25 Aug 2025

Exploring the Regulatory Potential of "Junk DNA"

The non-coding genome, once referred to as "junk DNA," is now understood to be a fundamental regulator of gene expression and a key factor in understanding complex diseases.

25 Aug 2025

Machine Learning Framework Reveals Rules of Cellular Self Organization

One of the most fundamental processes in all of biology is the spontaneous organization of cells into clusters that divide and eventually turn into shapes – be they organs, wings or limbs.

22 Aug 2025

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

Ancient Interbreeding Provided Modern Humans with Useful Genetic Variation

A new study provides fresh evidence that ancient interbreeding with archaic human species may have provided modern humans with genetic variation that helped them adapt to new environments as they dispersed across the globe.

22 Aug 2025

Breakthrough Technique Enables Large-Scale Study of Polar and Ionic Metabolites

Researchers from the McCullagh Group in Oxford University's Department of Chemistry have published an innovative method in Nature Protocols today (22 August) that provides comprehensive analysis of metabolites found in cells, tissues and biofluids.

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

Epigenetic Noise Enables Cells to Shift Identity and Influence Immunity

All cells in the body contain the same DNA, but different cell types express different genes; skin cells express genes for the skin, liver cells express liver genes, and so on.

21 Aug 2025

Single-Cell Map Reveals Epigenomic Regulation of Human Fat Tissue

A new study has created the first single-cell map of how DNA is regulated and organized inside different cell-types of human fat tissue.

21 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

New Tool Offers Insight Into When Genes Turn On and Off in the Brain

A Yale research team has created a new computer tool that can pinpoint when exactly genes turn on and off over time during brain development - a finding that may one day help doctors identify the optimal window to deploy gene therapy treatments.

20 Aug 2025

New Insights Reveal Bacterial Roots of Key Plant Hormone Enzymes

Terpenoids play vital roles in plant ecology-from repelling pests to attracting pollinators-and are produced by terpene synthases (TPSs) enzymes.

19 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

Study Uncovers Genetic Driver of Color Patterns in Saintpaulia Flowers

Flowers, specialized plant structures consisting of colorful petals and green sepals, play a key role in plant propagation.

19 Aug 2025

Fruit Fly Courtship Behavior Transferred Through Single Gene Manipulation

Researchers in Japan have genetically transferred a unique courtship behavior from one fruit fly species to another.

18 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