Genetics & Molecular Biology

At This Cedars-Sinai Laboratory, Stem Cells Get Thanksgiving Too

"Many people have dogs. We have stem cells," says Cedars-Sinai Hospital lab manager Loren Ornelas-Menendez about why they will be working on Thanksgiving, hand-feeding a special formula to their charges and making sure they stay at just the right ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 25 2019 - 1:25pm

Just The Tip: How Maristem Biotech Could Lead To Higher Food Yields

Biotechnology is the future of plant optimization, because ecology and people demand more sustainable food development, and that means embracing progress. A roadmap of the genes which drive plant architecture in maize will help, because plants grow through ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 9 2019 - 4:58pm

Mitochondria Send Out Cellular Distress Signals When DNA Are Damaged, Like In Chemotherapy

Mitochondria, the energy factories in most of our cells that convert the fat, carbohydrates, and protein we eat into a common energy currency used by our bodies, also set off molecular alarms when cells are exposed to stress or chemicals that can damage DN ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 16 2019 - 2:44pm

Rogue Science? The Case Of The First Gene-Edited Babies

The idea of scientists tinkering with the genes of babies was once the provenance of science fiction, but now it’s apparently entered the realm of reality: On Nov. 26, Chinese scientist He Jiankui reported the historic live births of twin girls whose gene ...

Article - The Conversation - Dec 30 2019 - 2:53pm

Not Jimmy Hoffa: Buffalo Cave Torso Identified Using Forensic Genealogy

The Civil Defense Caves in Dubois, Idaho, utilized as potential fallout shelters during the Cold War, are actually ancient lava tubes. Since they are easily accessible caves they have become popular family treks. In August of 1979, one such trek had a fami ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 31 2019 - 4:21pm

New And Improved Crop Protection: Oxitec Self-Limiting, Genetically Engineered Diamondback Moth For Brassica

Plutella xylostella (diamondback moth) does tremendous damage to brassica crops such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and canola. A new strain of diamondback moth developed by Oxitec Ltd, (OX4319L) is modified to control pest diamondback moth in a targete ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 29 2020 - 12:02pm

Nitrogen For Crops From Gene-Edited Microbes: How Close Is It?

Everyone has heard of the nutrient, nitrogen, but why is it important to plants? ...

Article - R. Ford Denison - Feb 11 2020 - 12:33am

Coronavirus Genome Has Been Sequenced

A recent study identified the coronavirus responsible for the pneumonia epidemic in the Hubei province of China and finds the bat-origin virus is related to other known pathogenic coronaviruses. The 2019 coronavirus (CoV) causes fatal pneumonia that has cl ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 19 2020 - 11:16am

How To Evolve A Pandemic Flu Virus

Most years, we generally don't worry about the flu (unless we're paid to worry about it, or we belong to an especially susceptible population). Yet some years, like this one, threats of a pandemic flu virus make it on everyone's radar screen ...

Article - Michael White - Mar 19 2020 - 12:58pm

Good Morning! Did You Sleep Poorly Because Of Your Genes?

A new paper suggests 47 links between our genetic code and the quality, quantity and timing of our sleep. The correlation was created using 85,670 participants of UK Biobank and 5,819 individuals from three other studies, who wore accelerometers (e.g. Fitb ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 4 2020 - 7:55am