Engineers at Duke University and the New York University's Tandon School of Engineering have demonstrated a method for ensuring that an increasingly popular method of genetic identification called "DNA fingerprinting" remains secure against inadvertent mistakes or malicious attacks in the field.

A new study by researchers from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE), a joint centre of UPF and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), shows that, surprisingly, the distribution of mutations in human tumours is more similar to that of chimpanzees and gorillas than that of other types of genetic mutations in humans.

John Cumbers is founder and CEO of SynBioBeta, a global network of biological engineers and entrepreneurs in a promising new scientific field known as "synthetic biology." The San Francisco Bay Area is a leader in this little-known but fast-growing industry, which reassembles the building blocks of life in imaginative and diverse ways.

A new study has revealed why some corals exhibit a dazzling colorful display, instead of turning white, when they suffer 'coral bleaching' -- a condition which can devastate reefs and is caused by ocean warming. The scientists behind the research think this phenomenon is a sign that corals are fighting to survive.

Researchers used a genetic database of more than 47,000 people in Estonia to identify a gene linked to thinness that may play a role in resisting weight gain in metabolically healthy thin people. They show that knocking out this gene results in thinner flies and mice and find that expression of it in the brain may be involved in regulating energy expenditure.

A Malaysian state that is a major nesting site for turtles will ban the trade in their eggs, authorities said Thursday, in a boost for the threatened creatures.

Noises produced by European spiny lobsters—known as antennal rasps—may be detectable up to 3 kilometers underwater, according to a study in Scientific Reports. The sound, created when lobsters rub an extension of their antenna against a 'file' below their eyes, may be used for communication or to deter predators. Its detection could help conservation efforts, the study suggests.

No other event in our lifetimes has brought such sudden, drastic loss to Australia's biodiversity as the last bushfire season. Governments, researchers and conservationists have committed to the long road to recovery. But in those vast burnt landscapes, where do we start?

As the cell's protein factory, the ribosome is the only natural machine that manufactures its own parts. That is why understanding how the machine, itself, is made, could unlock the door to everything from understanding how life develops to designing new methods of drug production. An intensive, long research effort at the Weizmann Institute of Science has now demonstrated the self-synthesis and assembly of the small subunit of a ribosome -30S—on a surface of a chip.

Levels of virus infection in lobsters seem to be related to habitat and other species, new studies of Caribbean marine protected areas have shown.

One of the first questions scientists ask when a new disease appears is, "Where did this come from?"

An international team of researchers has found evidence that suggests wild relatives of domestic goats passed on a gene to their domesticated relatives that boosts their pathogen resistance. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their study of goat genetic history and what they learned from it.

A sea lamprey has no jaw, no proper teeth and no bones. Yet this predator can attach like a suction cup to a fish 100 times its size, use its tongue to burrow a hole into its side, liquefy its tissues and eat it.

A UCLA research team has successfully used the powerful gene-editing tool known as CRISPR-Cas9 to alter the DNA of mature innate immune cells, some of the body's first responders to infections. These blood cells have been notoriously difficult to genetically engineer in the past.

Scientists at the Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory are constantly pushing at the boundaries of the unknown in their attempt to understand the origin and physical properties of the universe. Yet Fermilab is more than a gateway to the subatomic world: It's also home to rare and endangered ecosystems, such as grassland prairies and riparian forests, which are becoming increasingly hard to find in the northern United States.

Scientists from Queensland Museum, Griffith University, University of Melbourne and the Northern Territory Government have described a colorful new velvet gecko from Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory.

A new weapon in the arsenal against the coronavirus may be sitting in your home entertainment console. A team led by physicist Chris Barty of the University of California, Irvine is researching the use of diodes from Blu-ray digital video disc devices as deep-ultraviolet laser photon sources to rapidly disinfect surfaces and the indoor air that swirls around us.

Larval nutrition plays a role in determining the sexual characteristics of Japanese rice fish, also called medaka (Oryzias latipes), report a team of researchers led by Nagoya University. The findings, published in the journal Biology Open, could further understanding of a rare condition in humans and other vertebrates, where they genetically belong to one sex but also have characteristics of the other.

Why is sex so popular? The question of why so many organisms reproduce sexually has mystified evolutionary biologists since before Darwin, who wrote, "The whole subject is as yet hidden in darkness." In a recent article in Genome Biology and Evolution titled "What's genetic variation got to do with it? Starvation-induced self-fertilization enhances survival in Paramecium," the authors suggest that the molecular mechanisms underlying sex and the stress response may be more tightly coupled than previously appreciated, providing a new explanation for the widespread prevalence of sex in nature.

Monoclonal antibodies are those that originate from identical immune cells having a common origin. They are highly effective, non-toxic and can specifically target diseased cells, and are therefore used in immunotherapy to treat diseases such as psoriasis, cancer and autoimmune disorders. However, since antibodies are unable to cross the cell membrane, they have mainly been used against antigens present on the surface of cells.

There is much debate about the correct storage of tomatoes. There are two main options available to consumers: Storage in the refrigerator or at room temperature. A research team from the University of Göttingen has now investigated whether there are differences in the flavor of ripe tomatoes depending on how they are stored and taking into account the chain of harvesting from farm to fork. No perceptible difference was found: the variety of tomato is much more important. The results have been published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science.

The seeds of jojoba are one of the only known sustainable sources of liquid wax esters. They have been used as an eco-friendly replacement for similar oils that were once harvested from the spermaceti organ of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), which nearly drove it to extinction. "Jojoba is the only plant to store wax in its seeds. Such a vegetable oil has heretofore been unavailable," says Dr. Eberhard Munz (research group AAN).

A research team from the Pablo de Olavide University of Seville, led by Pim Edelaar, from the institution's Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering, has carried out an experimental study that shows that grasshoppers are perfectly aware of their own coloration when choosing the place that provides them with better camouflage. The research findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, show how organisms are able to adjust their environment, each according to their individual needs.

A team of scientists has successfully produced in a laboratory setting a coral that is more resistant to increased seawater temperatures.

The health service is not a charity and it is not staffed by heroes. It has been run into the ground by successive governmentsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageI work for the NHS as a doctor. I don’t work “on the frontline” because there isn’t one; I’m not in the army and we aren’t engaged in military combat. But I do work as a consultant on a ward where we have had Covid-19, and colleagues of mine have been very unwell. The requirement to be constantly vigilant and to manage the infection risk makes work more difficult, more stressful, and at times more tragic.Obviously I carry on going to work – it is my job, one that I enjoy and am being well paid for. I am pleased to have a reason to leave the house. I have a very decent and secure income so count myself extremely lucky. Related: Coronavirus survivor: 'I'm still asking myself why I'm here and others aren't' Related: Sign up for Society Weekly: our newsletter for public service professionals Continue reading...