Reproduction and Lifespan are intertwined

An organ-shaping gene has been found in the microscopic worm Caenorhabditis elegans, or C. elegans for short. The gene and the protein it makes are responsible for shaping the gonad, a complex reproductive organ. Similar genes and proteins are probably at work in other animals, including humans. The new finding by University of Wisconsin-Madison biochemist Judith Kimble and graduate student Robert Blelloch advances the prospect of one day growing...

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Clues to Nervous System Evolution Found in Nerve-Less Sponge

Sponges have all the genes necessary to have a nervous system, however they do not contain neurons at all. Research done on sponges has led to shocking discoveries of how the nervous system and gene expression are linked.Photo courtesy of neurosciencenews.com. It has always been question how sponges and animals have come from the same ancestry line but sponges lack the nervous system that animals have. Scientists realized that they could...

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Can a Jellyfish Unlock the Secret of Immortality?

In 1988 a marine biology student, Christian Sommer, discovered Turritopsis dohrnii, or more commonly known as the immortal jellyfish. Throughout his studies of this specimen he observed that the organism was incapable of death. The organism seemed to reverse its age until it reaches its earliest stage of life. Photo courtesy of the NewYorkTimes.com In 1988 a marine biology student, Christian Sommer, discovered Turritopsis...

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Strep throat and OCD are linked, Israeli researchers find

Children suffering from strep throat should be closely monitored for symptoms of OCD, the researchers say. Photo courtesy of Reuters A group of researchers at Tel Aviv University recently discovered that an individual who has contact with the bacteria streptococcus A as a child can eventually lead to obsessive-compulsive disorder.  Although streptococcus A is commonly known as the bacteria that causes...

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Puddles of Goo? Brainless Slime Molds Have Memories

The yellow slime mold leaves a thick mat of translucent slime (left on the agar plate) behind it as it moves, ooze that it later avoids. Now researchers have found the goo uses the gel trail as a kind of memory to navigate.  CREDIT: Image courtesy of Audrey Dussutour                                            Scientists have...

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Discovery Of Giant Roaming Deep Sea Protist Provides New Perspective On Animal Evolution

Tracks of the Bahamian Gromia sphaerica(A) Gently sloping seafloor with numerous G. sphaerica visible. White arrowheads indicate notably curved tracks; black arrowheads indicate adjacent tracks running in opposite directions.(B) Alignment of the tracks on a steeper slope.(C–F) Details of the tracks, demonstrating the characteristic bilobed profile with the central ridge that is especially prominent near the organism. In panel (E),...

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New Insights Into Protein Synthesis and Hepatitis C Infections

From left, Jennifer Doudna, Bunpote  Siridechadilok and Eva Nogales, used this cryo  electron microscope to create a 3-D model of  the protein complex eIF3 that shed new light  on protein synthesis and Hepatitis C viral  infections. Photo courtesy of lbl.gov This article shows how cryo electron microscopy (cryo-EM) was used to create a 3-D model of the protein complex called eukaryotic...

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DNA sequence may be lost in translation

Photo courtesy of  wired.com A new mysterious, unexpected phenomenon was brought to the attention to the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics in Washington, DC. This phenomenon is called “RNA editing.”  RNA editing is, “The process by which messenger RNA is modified (edited) after it is synthesized before it is translated into protein” (MedTerms). We all know that DNA is transcribed first to form...

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