Genome of Steller"s sea cow decoded
During the Ice Age, giant mammals such as mammoths, saber-toothed cats and wooly rhinoceroses once roamed Northern Europe and America. The cold oceans of the northern hemisphere were also home to giants like Steller's sea cow, which grew up to eight.....»»
Using a cutting enzyme and an RNA repair enzyme to modify RNA virus genomes
A team of microbiologists at Montana State University has developed a way to use a cutting enzyme and an RNA repair enzyme to modify the genome of an RNA virus. They describe their technique in Science Advances......»»
Examining the genesis of CRISPR"s molecular scissors
Genome engineering may be the future of medicine, but it relies on evolutionary advances made billions of years ago in primordial bacteria, the original masters of gene editing......»»
Chromosome-scale genome sequence of Suaeda glauca sheds light on salt stress tolerance in halophytes
A research paper titled "Chromosome-scale genome sequence of Suaeda glauca sheds light on salt stress tolerance in halophytes," by Professor Qin Yuan's team from the Center for Genomics, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology (Future Technology C.....»»
Towards a better understanding of early human embryonic development
The onset of embryo-specific gene transcription, also known as embryonic genome activation (EGA), is a crucial step in the developmental journey of an organism. Although EGA has been studied to some extent in mice, human EGA remains largely unexplore.....»»
Everything You Need to Know About Getting Your Genome Sequenced
DNA sequencing can assess your risk of developing certain diseases. It could even help provide medicines personalized to your genes one day. Governments want you to get involved......»»
Parasitic plant convinces hosts to grow into its own flesh—it"s also an extreme example of genome shrinkage
If you happen to come across plants of the Balanophoraceae family in a corner of a forest, you might easily mistake them for fungi growing around tree roots. Their mushroom-like structures are actually inflorescences, composed of minute flowers......»»
Dingoes found to have more harmful mutations than most inbred dog breeds
Genome sequencing comparisons with wolves, strays and dogs across the world has found Australia's dingoes have the highest loads of harmful mutations—and diversity levels that are 36% lower than the most inbred dogs......»»
How bats evolved to avoid cancer
A new paper titled "Long-read sequencing reveals rapid evolution of immunity and cancer-related genes in bats" in Genome Biology and Evolution shows that rapid evolution in bats may account for the animals' extraordinary ability to both host and surv.....»»
Notorious fungus Aspergillus fumigatus completely scrambles its genome after just one bout of sex
Researchers at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) have found that Aspergillus fumigatus produces more meiotic crossovers than any other organism. This means that the fungus can establish its complex resistance mechanism after just one cycle of se.....»»
A NICER approach to genome editing
The gene editing technique CRISPR/Cas9 has allowed researchers to make precise and impactful changes to an organism's DNA to fix mutations that cause genetic disease. However, the CRISPR/Cas9 method can also result in unintended DNA mutations that ma.....»»
Researchers make genome prime editors smaller and more efficient for therapeutic applications
Prime editing technologies allow scientists to precisely edit the genome in a variety of ways and could one day be used to treat genetic diseases. Now researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have used cutting-edge continuous laboratory.....»»
Researchers determine how type II restriction endonuclease Sau3AI cleaves DNA
Sau3AI is a type II restriction enzyme widely used for genetic manipulation, such as genome library construction. Sau3AI consists of two domains, the N-terminal domain (Sau3AI-N) and the C-terminal domain (Sau3AI-C). How these two domains work togeth.....»»
Study provides evidence for hidden diversity within Hydnoraceae
Researchers from the Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have conducted a phylogenetic analysis of Hydnora plants in the family Hydnoraceae through plastid genome sequencing, assembly and annotation after extensive data qu.....»»
The first telomere-to-telomere haplotype-resolved reference genome of triploid banana
Banana is one of the most important crops of the world. The demand for cultivated bananas continues to grow; however, their production is greatly affected by a complex of biotic and abiotic stresses. For instance, banana yields are severely threatene.....»»
New genetic analysis of Ötzi the Iceman yields some surprising findings
Ötzi’s ancestors were early Anatolian farmers, not Steppe Herders as previously believed. Enlarge / Study reveals that compared to other contemporary Europeans, Ötzi’s genome had an unusually high proportion of genes in com.....»»
Surprise! Ötzi the Iceman was bald and had darker skin than presumed
Ötzi’s ancestors were early Anatolian farmers, not Steppe Herders as previously believed. Enlarge / Study reveals that compared to other contemporary Europeans, Ötzi’s genome had an unusually high proportion of genes in com.....»»
New gene-editing technique offers path to precision therapies
PNP editing is emerging as a versatile and programmable tool for site-specific DNA manipulations. An innovative genome-editing technique could enhance the delivery, specificity and targeting of gene-modifying tools for treatments......»»
Ryugu asteroid origins in the solar nebula decoded by carbonates
Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency sent the Hayabusa2 spacecraft to 162173 Ryugu in 2019, an asteroid in orbit near Earth that is comprised of rocky fragments originating from a larger parent body. Multiple rovers brought samples from the asteroid'.....»»
Scientists reveal how proteins drive growth of multiple cancer types
Scientists have completed a deep analysis of the proteins driving cancer across multiple tumor types, information that can't be assessed by genome sequencing alone. Understanding how proteins operate in cancer cells raises the prospect of new therapi.....»»
High-precision genome sequencing of buckwheat breeds hope for future harvests
A research group led by Kyoto University's Graduate School of Agriculture has deciphered buckwheat's high-precision chromosomal-level genome sequence, a key step toward unraveling the evolution of the buckwheat genome and the origins of the cultivate.....»»