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.....»»
Sequencing the genome of a newly discovered soybean pest
University of Minnesota students conducted crucial genome sequencing for the newly discovered soybean gall midge—a pest that is threatening the soybean crop, one of the most widely cultivated and consumed throughout the world. This small fly has be.....»»
You"re stuck with your same old genome, but corals aren"t
Some corals live to be hundreds, and even thousands, of years old. They were born with genes that were successful back in their parent's generation, so how can these old corals still be successful now? Especially in a changing climate? It's possible.....»»
Human genome editing offers tantalizing possibilities—but without clear guidelines, many ethical questions remain
The Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing, a three-day conference organized by the Royal Society, the U.K. Academy of Medical Sciences, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences and Medicine and The World Academy of Sciences, was held this.....»»
Genes in beans: Bean genome sequenced for improved nutrition
The faba bean genome, which at 13 billion bases is more than four times the size of the human genome, has been sequenced for the first time and is published in Nature. This is an extraordinary technical achievement and crucial to efforts to breed bea.....»»
Popular fintech apps expose valuable, exploitable secrets
92% of the most popular banking and financial services apps contain easy-to-extract secrets and vulnerabilities that can let attackers steal consumer data and finances, according to Approov. The Approov Mobile Threat Lab downloaded, decoded and scann.....»»
Molecular atlas of spider silk production could help bring unparalleled material to market
Researchers from Southwest University in China have constructed the entire chromosomal-scale genome assembly and complete spidroin gene set of the golden orb-weaving spider, Trichonephila clavata, known for its especially strong, golden-colored webs......»»
Tracing the history of grape domestication using genome sequencing
A large international team of scientists with various backgrounds has discovered that there were two domestication pathway events for grapes that led to their use in winemaking. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes con.....»»
Guarding the genome: Researchers uncover full 3D structure of p53 protein
The tumor suppressor protein p53, known as "the guardian of the genome," protects the body's DNA from daily stress or long-term damage by triggering the cells to make repairs or to self-destruct. But mutations in the p53 gene that codes for the prote.....»»
Studying epigenetic regulation at the single-molecule level
If one imagines the genome as an instruction manual for the functioning of a cell, every page of this manual is covered with annotations, highlights, and bookmarks. The role of some of these marks remains mysterious—do they actively direct the read.....»»
Machine learning helps determine success of advanced genome editing
A new tool to predict the chances of successfully inserting a gene-edited sequence of DNA into the genome of a cell, using a technique known as prime editing, has been developed by researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. An evolution of CRISPR-.....»»
Software assembles complete genome sequences on-demand
National Institutes of Health researchers have developed and released an innovative software tool to assemble truly complete (i.e., gapless) genome sequences from a variety of species. This software, called Verkko, which means "network" in Finnish, m.....»»
New discovery to bulk up gluten-free fiber supplement
Scientists have for the first time constructed the reference genome for the source of the popular fiber supplement, psyllium husk, which could boost supplies of the versatile plant-derived product......»»
Taxonomy goes viral: Experts publish a new set of consensus principles to classify the virosphere
The official body charged with virus classification has released four new principles that bring order to the viral world. This provides a unified framework that will enable all viruses to be classified, something vitally needed as genome technologies.....»»
When editing bacteria with CRISPR, less is more
Systematically attenuating DNA targeting activity can achieve CRISPR-driven editing in bacteria, greatly boosting colony counts and even increasing the frequency of precise genome editing. This was shown in a study of the Helmholtz Institute Würzbur.....»»
Researchers decode 95.6% of the genome of Nicotiana benthamiana
The plant Nicotiana benthamiana, from the Solanaceae family, is one of the most widely used experimental models in plant science. In 2020, a research group at Nagoya University in Japan reported that N. benthamiana could be grafted with plants from d.....»»
Stunningly detailed blueprint revealed of viral genome replication machinery
RNA viruses, such as the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, are in a life-and-death race the moment they infect a cell......»»
Boosting efficiency of genome editing procedures to modify initially inaccessible DNA sequences
In the course of optimizing key procedures of genome editing, researchers from the department of Developmental Biology / Physiology at the Center for Organismal Studies of Heidelberg University have succeeded in substantially improving the efficiency.....»»
Power of cancer drugs may see boost by targeting newly identified pathway
Cells zealously protect the integrity of their genomes, because damage can lead to cancer or cell death. The genome—a cell's complete set of DNA—is most vulnerable while it is being duplicated before a cell divides. Cancer cells constantly are di.....»»
Study reveals dynamics of DNA ligation during genome replication
Unconnected strands of DNA must be sealed together during genome replication and repair, and a new KAUST-led investigation shows how the fastening enzyme involved gets the job done......»»
World-first computational reconstruction of a virus in its biological entirety
An Aston University researcher has created the first ever computer reconstruction of a virus, including its complete native genome......»»