The secret of how flowering plants evolved into one of the Earth’s most dominant and diverse groups of organisms is revealed in study led by researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Imperial College London.
Described by Charles Darwin as an “abominable mystery”, the team publish the first complete evolutionary ’super-tree’ of relationships among all families of flowering plants in current edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
Using a combination
Since small RNA molecules were discovered just over ten years ago, it has become clear that these once overlooked bits of genetic material play a decidedly large role in controlling gene expression and thus regulating a diverse array of cellular processes. They typically accomplish these tasks by targeting specific nucleotide sequences to shut down gene expression, and scientists are now starting to apply related strategies to inactivate specific genes for research and therapeutic purposes (see rela
Regulation of gene expression–deciding how much of what proteins are produced in the cell–is controlled by a myriad of different molecules. One type of naturally occurring regulatory molecule is small interfering RNA (siRNA), which selectively disrupts the production of a protein it is programmed to recognize, a process called RNA interference. These short stretches of nucleotides combine with other cellular proteins to form an RNA-induced silencing complex, called RISC, which locates and destroys
With the slim chance that farmers will stop planting crops containing genes from other organisms, researchers have started to develop strategies that trap these foreign genes, reducing the risk that they’ll spread to wild relatives.
But an investigation by scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Minnesota-St. Paul shows that these containment strategies can quickly fail.
Using mathematical models, the team of scientists explored the effective
Transgenic mouse shows other intriguing physiological changes
A transgenic mouse designed to grow more hair than other mice has provided University of Southern California researchers with some surprising results-and insight into the development and regulation of growth in epithelial organs that extend beyond skin and hair.
In an upcoming paper in the American Journal of Pathology—now available online—Cheng-Ming Chuong, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pathology at the Keck School o
Better drugs, improved industrial applications and even cleaner laundry may be possible with a new computer method to predict which hybrid enzymes are likely to have high activity, according to a team of Penn State chemists and chemical engineers.
“FamClash is quite successful at qualitatively predicting the pattern of the specific activity of the hybrids,” the researchers report in this week’s online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “By identifying incompat
Scientists at Jefferson Medical College and Jefferson’s Kimmel Cancer Center have discovered one part of the mechanism behind a popular anti-cholesterol drug.
Steven Farber, Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Eric Smart, Ph.D., at the University of Kentucky and their co-workers have found that treating hypercholesterolemic mice with the drug ezetimibe (Zetia) disrupts a complex of two pro
Already renowned as a leading centre for plant science research, the University of Reading’s Herbarium is now a world resource for botanists after the launch of a new internet website featuring an ever-expanding database of specimens.
The Herbarium, which was founded in 1900, contains 264,500 plant specimens from around the world, with a particular focus on the United Kingdom and Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Morocco.
There are extensive collections of phanerogams, pter
It has long been known that migratory birds can make use of the earth’s magnetic fields to navigate. Birds read the angle that magnetic fields create on the ground and thereby determine how far north or south they are of the magnetic equator and the magnetic pole. But how do they do this? Is there some unknown “magnetic sense”? It seems that birds can actually see magnetic fields-providing the lighting conditions are right. Experiments on redbreasts carried out by a zoo-ecologist at Lund University i
Pieris butterflies are not like all other butterflies. Both sexes agree about sex. In a dissertation about olfactory communication, Johan Andersson, a scientist at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (KTH), Sweden, presents exciting new findings about a joint effort that provides an alternative view of the theory of sexual selection.
The Western man gives his partner an engagement ring when he wants to show the world that this woman is spoken for. When mating, the male white-winge
An experiment which forced E. coli bacteria to adapt or perish showed that, in a pinch, they were capable of improvising a novel molecular tool to save their skins.
“The bacteria reached for a tool that they had, and made it do something it doesn’t normally do,” said James Bardwell, an associate professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at the University of Michigan. “We caught evolution in the act of making a big step.”
This big step also turns out to be a new w
A century ago, when biologists used to talk about the primordial soup from which all life on Earth came, they probably never imagined from how far away the ingredients may have come. Recent findings have the origins of life reaching far out from what was once considered “the home planet.” Evolution on the early Earth may have been influenced by some pretty far-out stuff.
In a paper published this week in the journal Science, Arizona State University Chemistry Professor Sandra Pizzarello cla
Findings extend longevity research from yeast and worms to mammals
Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston have discovered how two key cellular influences on lifespan work together, providing insights that may help reveal aging mechanisms in humans. The findings extend longevity research from yeast and worms into mammals, and suggest that longer life results, at least in part, from biochemical interactions that boost cells’ ability to resist environmental stresses while in
The evolution of a particular gene could be the reason why a certain worm might better tolerate a salty environment than its relatives, new research suggests.
The findings show that the excretory cells of the worm Caenorhabditis elegans – a widely studied nematode used in genetics research — express a specific gene that seems to help the species tolerate a high-salt environment. The findings are reported in the current online edition of Nature Genetics.
Related Caenorhabditis speci
UCSF researchers have made a notable advance in the effort to illuminate the existence of adult stem cells in the human brain, identifying a ribbon of stem cells that potentially could be used to develop strategies for regenerating damaged brain tissue – and that could offer new insight into the most common type of brain tumor.
The study, conducted by investigators in the UCSF Department of Neurological Surgery, is the cover story in the Feb. 19 issue of Nature.
The researchers co
Water is simple, right? It is a simple, stable molecule – two hydrogen atoms strongly bonded to an oxygen atom. It is common in the universe, existing at a wide range of temperatures. As a liquid, it has interesting properties that allow it to dissolve many substances. It is basic to life, and it makes up most of your body.
However, a vigorous argument about some fundamental physical properties of this ubiquitous substance has been raging for over half a century. Now, a new finding to be pu
Feedback
