News

500 million years ago, the first plants living in water took to land. The genetic adaptations associated with this transition can already be recognized in the genome of Chara braunii, a species of freshwater algae, reports a new study.

Researchers describe the central role played by an enzyme called phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase gamma (PI3Kγ) in regulating the immune response against Trypanosoma cruzi, the protozoan parasite that causes Chagas disease.

Researchers are looking into zero-emission greenhouses and clever ways of shaping livestock farming, land use and forest and nature management with the aim of cutting greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and land use.

Pfizer Inc. announced it will organize the company into three businesses.

Genetic research at Oregon State University has shed new light on how isolated populations of the same species evolve toward reproductive incompatibility and thus become separate species.

A study in mice has exploited the power and potential of the CRISPR gene editing technique to engineer cancer cells that hunt down and attack their tumor of origin. The research could lead to promising therapies for different types of cancer.

A team of University of Konstanz biologists led by Professor Axel Meyer shows that evolutionary outcomes can be predicted: In a new publication in the journal “Evolution Letters”, they are able to identify some of the factors that contribute to recurrent patterns of diversity and similarity in cichlids.

Alternative splicing is a cellular mechanism that allows cells to produce many different proteins from a single gene. Researchers have shown that this process is key to the maintenance of skeletal muscle, providing insights into muscle mass loss in aging and chronic disease.

Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona have developed a new method to systematically identify genes contributing to heritable cancer risk. Their work, which is published in Nature Communications, is a success story for data sharing and openness in science. A small team of three researchers identified new cancer genes only using publicly available data.

The rise of genomics, the shift from considering genes singly to collectively, is adding a new dimension to medical care. A new computational tool combines multiple types of genomic information to make stronger predictions about what genomic features are associated with specific drug responses.