Latest genetic code Stories
Research uncovers a virus which infects a host that has a non-standard nuclear genetic code Among eukaryotes with modified nuclear genetic codes, viruses are unknown. Until now it had been believed that the modifications to the genetic code effectively prevented new viral infections. However, researchers have now reported the first example of a virus that can be shown to have crossed the boundary from organisms using the standard genetic code to those with an alternate genetic code....
Imagine two steel springs identical in look and composition but that perform differently because each was tempered at a different rate. A team of researchers including a Texas A&M University molecular biologist has shown that concept — that the speed of creation affects performance — applies to how a protein they studied impacts an organism's circadian clock function. This discovery provides new insights into the significance of the genetic code for controlling the rates at which...
The circadian clocks that control and influence dozens of basic biological processes have an unexpected "snooze button" that helps cells adapt to changes in their environment. A study by Vanderbilt University researchers published online Feb. 17 by the journal Nature provides compelling new evidence that at least some species can alter the way that their biological clocks function by using different "synonyms" that exist in the genetic code. "This provides organisms with a novel and...
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Feb. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Imagine two steel springs identical in look and composition but that perform differently because each was tempered at a different rate. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120502/DC99584LOGO) A team of researchers including a Texas A&M University molecular biologist has shown that concept -- that the speed of creation affects performance -- applies to how a protein they studied impacts an organism's...
DNA holds the genetic code for all sorts of biological molecules and traits. But University of Illinois researchers have found that DNA’s code can similarly shape metallic structures. The team found that DNA segments can direct the shape of gold nanoparticles – tiny gold crystals that have many applications in medicine, electronics and catalysis. Led by Yi Lu, the Schenck Professor of Chemistry at the U. of I., the team published its surprising findings in the journal Angewandte...
New Weizmann Institute technology speeds up DNA “rewriting” and measures the effects of the changes in living cells Our ability to “read” DNA has made tremendous progress in the past few decades, but the ability to understand and alter the genetic code, that is, to “rewrite” the DNA-encoded instructions, has lagged behind. A new Weizmann Institute study advances our understanding of the genetic code: It proposes a way of effectively introducing numerous carefully planned DNA...
The discovery of a mummified Korean child with relatively preserved organs enabled an Israeli-South Korean scientific team to conduct a genetic analysis on a liver biopsy which revealed a unique hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype C2 sequence common in Southeast Asia. Additional analysis of the ancient HBV genomes may be used as a model to study the evolution of chronic hepatitis B and help understand the spread of the virus, possibly from Africa to East-Asia. It also may shed further light...
Scientists from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine (IGMM) at the University of Edinburgh have discovered an enzyme that corrects the most common mistake in mammalian DNA. The mistake is the inclusion of individual bits of RNA within the DNA sequence, which the researchers found occurs more than a million times in each cell as it divides. The findings, published in Cell, suggest the RNase H2 enzyme is central to an important DNA repair mechanism...
Within Redundancy of Genetic Code Exists Information that Helps Determine How Fast Proteins are Produced, UCSF Team Finds A hidden and never before recognized layer of information in the genetic code has been uncovered by a team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) thanks to a technique developed at UCSF called ribosome profiling, which enables the measurement of gene activity inside living cells — including the speed with which proteins are made. By...
Will genetic testing and personalized medicine change the way you think about your life? Should it? What can you really learn about your future from direct-to-consumer genetic tests–or even from whole genome scanning, which is becoming increasingly affordable? And what about your privacy: how well is your genetic information protected? These and other bioethics issues are raised in Cracking Your Genetic Code, a NOVA special produced in association with The Hastings Center that airs on...
