The human genome is the home of over 3 billion nucleotide base pairs packaged into 23 chromosome pairs. But despite the tremendous size of the human genome, only 1-2% of genome actually encodes for…

Researchers at the Buck Institute for Age Research writing in the journal Stem Cells say they have successfully used human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to treat rodents afflicted with…

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology say they have unraveled the mystery of why human embryonic stem (ES) cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells undergo apoptosis (…

Thimios Mitsiadis, Professor for Oral Biology at the University of Zurich, says he has shown that  during tooth formation (odontogenesis) if the Jagged2 gene is inactivated, and thus the Notch…

In a new Cell study, researchers say they have uncovered a new role for an essential cell protein polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPASE) in shuttling RNA into the mitochondria, the energy-producing '…

John Mattick, University of Queensland, is one of the leading proponents of the idea that much -- perhaps most -- of the human genome is functional. He has been making claims along these lines for at…

Genes specific to sex change rapidly but there is one sex-specific gene so vital its function has remained unaltered throughout evolution and is found in almost all animals, according to new research…

Can somatic cells be reprogrammed to become pluripotent stem cells? Well, the answer is yes or no, depending on your perspective, and perhaps your definition of what pluripotent stem cells should be…

The cell membrane at first may seem a simple device, but it is in fact a very complex machine. The basic building block is the phospholipid, a set of molecules that have hydrophilic (water loving)…

Proteins are the workhorses of our existence.   These "helmsmen of the cell" are composed of amino acids, whose sequence is already defined by the heritable information in every living being and…