News by Subject Biology

Scientists are a step closer to understanding how our DNA is squeezed into every cell in the body. They provide the first-ever detailed picture of the nucleosome, the most basic building block of chromosomes (the structures that house our DNA). This finding will inform research on all processes that involve chromosomes, such as gene expression and DNA repair, which are critical to the understanding of diseases such as cancer.

In the future, it may be possible to diagnose cancer much earlier using improved detection systems. Computing resources at the Texas Advanced Computing Center help researchers explore improved breast tissue mapping, nanopore and lab-on-a-chip biosensors, and cell-entering cancer detectors. Advanced computing is critical for the simulation and materials design aspects of these emerging diagnostic devices.

A study led by the researcher Marisol Soengas at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) allows to visualize 'in vivo' how melanomas act before metastasis occurs, and how these invasive signals are reactivated when surgery is not efficient. The researchers have also identified new metastasis mechanisms induced by very small lesions in the skin, which represent new progression biomarkers and potential targets for melanoma treatment.

UC biologist helps decode the structural complexities of male butterfly ejaculate and co-evolving female reproductive tract. Findings from these biochemical relationships may help unlock certain mysteries of human infertility.

But the woodrats' unique adaptation that allows them to break down creosote toxins may be in jeopardy if temperatures continue to rise, according to University of Utah researchers. Their new study in Molecular Ecology explains why: Livers of mammals (including us) may be less efficient at breaking down toxins at higher temperatures.

Scientists at the University of Konstanz and Umea University in Sweden have arrived at a structural model of the enzyme adenylate kinase in its closed state