5+ day, 4+ hour ago  (417+ words) To survive in the human bloodstream, the African trypanosome parasite wears a "cloak" made of proteins known as a variant surface glycoprotein (VSG). The study, published in Nature Microbiology, identifies the protein that allows the parasite to fine-tune this "cloak…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago  (470+ words) In their landmark 1961 paper of the lac operon, Nobel laureates Fran'ois Jacob and Jacques Monod speculated that RNA might control gene activity in bacteria through base-pairing interactions. But once protein transcription factors were discovered, the idea was tossed aside. Sixty…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago  (748+ words) When you reach into a bucket of ice, step outside on a snowy day, or feel the tingle of menthol toothpaste, a protein in your nerve cells called TRPM8 springs into action, opening like a tiny gate to send a "cold…...

4+ week, 1+ day ago  (804+ words) When Associate Professor Eliezer Calo PhD '11 was applying for faculty positions, he was drawn to MIT not only because it's his alma mater, but also because the Department of Biology places high value on exploring fundamental questions in biology. In…...

1+ mon, 1+ day ago  (364+ words) Collared Iguana (Oplurus cuvieri) with pineal gland by Daniel Goeleven New research that challenges thinking on the evolution of human brains suggests we descended from a small one-eyed Cyclops creature around 600 million years ago. In a new study, published in…...

1+ mon, 5+ day ago  (180+ words) Corresponding author Dr Zhe Ji , Department of Biology Up to now, the molecular driver of this developmental switch has been unknown. In the new study, the researchers not only identified the gene responsible, but demonstrated that manipulating this in rice…...

1+ mon, 6+ day ago  (470+ words) A new tool enables biomedical researchers from around the world to quickly see the connections between lipids and proteins inside cells, thanks to a new initiative led by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University. Scientists say the new open-access database…...

2+ mon, 1+ week ago  (506+ words) In Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking-Glass," Alice runs endlessly alongside the Red Queen but never moves ahead. "It takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place," the Queen explains. When DNA Turns Against Itself This…...

2+ mon, 2+ week ago  (255+ words) "Here we show that the mosquito species we captured in remnants of the Atlantic Forest have a clear preference for feeding on humans," said senior author Dr Jeronimo Alencar, a biologist at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute in Rio de Janeiro....

5+ mon, 3+ week ago  (370+ words) A Curtin University-led international study has solved the mystery of how the skin of a fossilised fish was able to be preserved for 52 million years, extending our understanding of how even the most delicate of biological material can survive deep…...