Biology News

“We're bracing for a tree-pollen season like last year”

Joel Munch was told he was allergic to too many things, so he couldn't get allergy shots. via The Clarion-Ledger

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“We suspect this may have something to do with the male Y chromosome, but more research will be needed to find out exactly how or why.”

A mutated gene has been discovered as the key behind epilepsy and mental retardation specific to women, thanks to new research at Adelaide's Women's & Children's Hospital and the University of Adelaide, ... via Newswise

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The news that scientists have genetically altered a human embryo for the first time is drawing sharp criticism from some watchdog groups. via KLFY-TV Lafayette

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“None of us wants to make designer babies”

NEW YORK - News that scientists have for the first time genetically altered a human embryo is drawing fire from some watchdog groups that say it's a step toward creating "designer babies." But an author of the ... via KOB-TV

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“It is a really tiny change but it has tremendous consequences”

New research using sophisticated computer simulations has allowed a team of physical chemists to show how a minor, seemingly inconsequential gene mutation can begin the cascade to Alzheimer's disease. via Psych Central News

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“This work not only has implications for the field of neurodegeneration and neurobiology, but may also help us more clearly understand brain cancer, including malignant glioma, an invariably fatal tumor, and how it impacts brain function”

Neurodegenerative diseases are caused by the deterioration of neurons in the brain and spine resulting in problems related to either movement or memory. via Science Daily

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“The aging population presents a major research challenge to the UK and we need effort to understand normal aging and the characteristics that accompany it.”

Working at the University of Oxford and The Open University, Dr Lynne Cox and Dr Robert Saunders have discovered a gene in fruit flies that means flies can now be used to study the effects aging has on DNA. via Science Daily

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“Our studies show that alterations in microRNA processing result in synaptic and behavioral deficits”

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have illuminated a window into how abnormalities in microRNAs, a family of molecules that regulate expression of numerous genes, may contribute to the ... via News-Medical.Net

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“Somehow, something made the plant start making these compartments, and by making more compartments, you can get larger fruit.”

THE secret behind growing large tomatoes lies not in the fertiliser or the perfect soil conditions, but in just a few genetic changes that over time have resulted in tomatoes 1,000 times bigger than their wild ... via The Straits Times

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“When kelp experience stress, for example when they are exposed to intense light, desiccation or atmospheric ozone during low tides, they very quickly begin to release large quantities of iodide from stores inside the tissues”

A new international study has found that large brown seaweeds, when under stress, release large quantities of inorganic iodine into the coastal atmosphere, where it may contribute to cloud formation. via Science Daily

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