News by Subject Biology

In saliva, scientists have found hints that a 'ghost' species of archaic humans may have contributed genetic material to ancestors of people living in sub-Saharan Africa today. The research adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that sexual rendezvous between different archaic human species may not have been unusual.

Biochemists from the University of Freiburg have elucidated the structure of an enzyme that supplies carotenoid.

A cooperative research team led by researchers at Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center devised a strategy to target cancer cells while sparing normal cells by capitalizing on vulnerabilities that are exposed only in tumor cells. These vulnerabilities are known as the 'Achilles heel' of cancer cells. Although much is known about the mutations that cause a cell to become malignant, little is known about these vulnerabilities. The team has published new findings on this topic.

Researchers at the University of Zurich have shown for the first time that hematopoietic stem cells detect infectious agents themselves and begin to divide -- that is, without signals from growth factors. This direct production of defensive cells damages hematopoiesis in the long term, however, which could lead to malignant hematopoietic stem cell diseases at advanced age.

CRISPR, the gene-editing technology that has taken biology by storm, is now more powerful than ever. Scientists have assembled a library of RNA sequences that can be used by researchers to direct the CRISPR-cas9 complex to cut DNA with exquisite, unprecedented precision.

New research by Columbia scientists offers fresh insight into how the brain tells the body to move, from simple behaviors like walking, to trained movements that may take years to master. The discovery in mice advances knowledge of how cells in the motor cortex -- the brain's movement center -- communicate with muscles, and may help researchers better understand what happens in injury or disease, when the mechanisms that underlie movement go awry.