Genetics – Page 6 – PossibleThreat Articles

When laying their eggs, tobacco hawkmoths avoid plants that smell of caterpillar feces

October 8, 2019 0 Comments Agriculture and Food, Behavioral Science, Botany, Endangered Plants, Genetics, Insects (including Butterflies), Molecular Biology, Nature

Scientists have demonstrated that not only plant odors determine the best oviposition site for egglaying hawkmoths, but also the frass of other larvae. They specified the repelling substance in the feces which signals the presence of competing conspecifics. Moreover, the researchers identified an odorant receptor which is involved in the detection of the typical smell of larval frass and thereby governs competition avoidance during oviposition.

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Voltage gated calcium channels 'read' electric patterns in embryos to create cartilage and bone

October 7, 2019 0 Comments Biology, Developmental Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Nervous System, Osteoporosis, Stem Cells, Women's Health

Scientists have revealed how the electrical patterns formed within an embryo initiate a cascade of molecular changes that culminate in the development of cartilage and bone. Prior studies have shown these electrical patterns appear like blueprints of the tissues and organs that eventually take shape as the embryo matures. The new study demonstrates that voltage gated calcium channels 'read' the electrical pattern, setting off the expression of genes that guide differentiation to mature cells.

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Histone modifications are the influencers of zygotic genome awakening

October 7, 2019 0 Comments Biotechnology, Developmental Biology, Epigenetics, Epigenetics Research, Genes, Genetics, Human Biology, Pregnancy and Childbirth

Scientists have observed changes to the gene-regulating factors during zebrafish development and discovered that modifications to 'histone H3', one of the proteins around which DNA is bound, play an important role in 'zygotic genome activation' or transition of control of zebrafish embryonic development from maternal material to the zygote.

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Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2019: How cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability

October 7, 2019 0 Comments Anemia, Biology, Biotechnology, Brain Tumor, COPD, Extreme Survival, Genetics, Hypertension

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is being awarded jointly to William G. Kaelin Jr., Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza for identifying molecular machinery that regulates the activity of genes in response to varying levels of oxygen.

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Scientists find timekeepers of gut's immune system

October 5, 2019 0 Comments Biology, Biotechnology, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Gastrointestinal Problems, Genetics, Immune System, Insomnia Research, Lymphoma

Shift work and jet lag disrupt not just sleep cycles, but feeding and digestive cycles as well. Such disruptions have been linked to risk of obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, infection, and other conditions. Now, researchers have identified an immune cell that helps set the daily rhythms of the gut. The findings open the door to new treatments for digestive ailments targeting such cells.

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Scientists uncover genetic similarities among species that use sound to navigate

October 4, 2019 0 Comments Biology, Developmental Biology, Dolphins and Whales, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Life Sciences, New Species, Wild Animals

Insect-eating bats navigate effortlessly in the dark and dolphins and killer whales gobble up prey in murky waters thanks in part to specific changes in a set of 18 genes involved in the development of the cochlear ganglion — a group of nerves that transmit sound from the ear to the brain, according to a new study.

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New fluorescence method reveals signatures of individual microbes

October 4, 2019 0 Comments Batteries, Biochemistry, Biology, Biotechnology, Electricity, Genetics, Graphene, Microbiology

Researchers have developed a new method that reveals the unique fluorescence patterns produced by individual cells in mixtures of bacteria, yeast and fungi. They combined confocal microscopy with micro-spectroscopy to determine the fluorescence signatures from different types of microbes. They trained machine learning systems to analyze the images and identify different individual cells and cell-types automatically, even those with very similar shapes and sizes.

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Identifying a gene for canine night blindness

October 4, 2019 0 Comments Biology, Biotechnology, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Dogs, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Life Sciences, Veterinary Medicine

Researchers have identified the gene mutation responsible for a form of night blindness in dogs. Strategies to treat this condition, which affects a layer of neurons just below the primary photoreceptor cells, could also inform treatment of other diseases that rely on targeting this cell type.

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Three-dimensional structure of the genome replication machine discovered

October 3, 2019 0 Comments Biochemistry Research, Biology, Biotechnology, Forensics, Genes, Genetics, Human Biology, Personalized Medicine

Researchers have discovered how the enzyme DNA polymerase delta works to duplicate the genome that cells hand down from one generation to the next.

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Protein associated with many diseases fully visualized for first time

October 3, 2019 0 Comments Biotechnology, Cancer, Cell Biology, Diseases and Conditions, Genetics, Hypertension, Lung Cancer, Molecular Biology

For the first time, researchers have learned at the molecular level how the P2X7 protein receptor – which is associated with inflammation, coronary artery disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis and more – works. The findings could one day inspire new drugs to treat numerous medical conditions.