Genetics & Molecular Biology

Somebody should have told the Nobel Prize Committee

Can science journalism get any more embarrassingly bad? "Real-time gene monitoring developed" says a headline over at physorg.com. The piece starts off with an insane hook that makes no sense whatsoever: With GeneVision, military commanders could ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Dec 17 2008 - 3:00pm

How The Nodal Gene Family Keeps Your Heart In The Right (asymmetric) Place

Asymmetry is crucial for the heart proper functioning, and now, scientists from the Institute Gulbenkian of Science in Portugal and Harvard University, have discovered that a family of genes, called Nodal, is crucial determining this asymmetry by controlli ...

Article - Catarina Amorim - Dec 20 2008 - 12:22am

The Demise Of The 'Genetic Blueprint' Metaphor

Metaphors are dangerous things. On the one hand, it seems pretty much impossible to avoid using them, especially in rather abstract fields like philosophy and science. On the other hand, they are well known to trick one’s mind into taking the metaphor too ...

Article - Massimo Pigliucci - Dec 23 2008 - 2:48pm

Discovery- G9a Gene Triggers Differentiation Of Embryonic Cells

At a very early stage of human development, all cells of the embryo are identical, but unlike adult cells are very flexible and carry within them the potential to become any tissue type, whether it be muscle, skin, liver or brain.  This cell differentiatio ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 21 2008 - 9:44am

Is Popularity Genetic?

A groundbreaking study of popularity by a Michigan State University scientist has found that genes elicit not only specific behaviors but also the social consequences of those behaviors.  According to the investigation by behavioral geneticist S. Alexandra ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 22 2008 - 2:43am

Researchers Derive Embryonic Stem Cells From Rats For First Time

Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have, for the first time in history, derived authentic embryonic stem (ES) cells from rats. This breakthrough finding will enable scientists to create far more effective animal models for the study ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 24 2008 - 12:42pm

Embryonic Stem Cell 'Cocktail' Can Be Used In Any Mammal, Say Researchers

Researchers have what they think may be a basic recipe for capturing and maintaining indefinitely the most fundamental of embryonic stem cells from essentially any mammal, including cows, pigs and even humans. Two new studies reported in Cell, show that a ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 24 2008 - 12:45pm

Humans, Animals, And Plants Make Their Own Form Of Aspirin

Since 1899, when acetylsalicylic acid was named "aspirin" in Germany, the emphasis has been placed on its properties. There is a new wind on the subject-- a medical cyclone seems to be brewing in the United Kingdom. John R. Patterson and colleag ...

Article - Hatice Cullingford - Dec 30 2008 - 1:49am

Nutrigenomics Says You Can Make A Diet For Your Genetics

If you put 'genomics' on the end of a word, you can gain instant credibility, so it makes sense that someone would come up with 'nutrigenomics' and say they can make a diet that corresponds to your genetic profile. It's tough to k ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 29 2008 - 3:45pm

In Vitro Evolution- RNA That Replicates Itself Indefinitely Created, Say Researchers

How did life begin?   A pair of Scripps Research Institute scientists say they have taken a significant step toward answering that question because they have synthesized RNA enzymes that can replicate themselves without the help of any proteins or other ce ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 11 2009 - 2:33pm