Genetics & Molecular Biology

Two manuscripts related to the ancestral wheat genomes of Triticum urartu and Aegilops tauschii  provide an unprecedented glimpse into the adaptation and domestication of wheat throughout the ages and shedding light on the biology of the world's primary staple crop.  Wheat is a globally important crop due to its enhanced adaptability to a wide range of climates and improved grain quality for the production of baker's flour. Major efforts are underway worldwide to increase its yield and quality by increasing genetic diversity and analyzing key traits related to its resistance to…

In the early 1950's, a 66-year-old woman with colon cancer received a blood transfusion - but she suffered a severe rejection of the transfused blood. When writing the case study, the medical journal Revue D'Hématologie identified her only as "Patient Vel." It was determined that Mrs. Vel had developed a potent antibody against some unknown molecule found on the red blood cells of most people in the world—but not found on her own red blood cells. But the molecule was unknown, nobody could find it. A blood mystery began, and, from her case, a new blood type, "Vel-negative," was described in…

The Lazarus Project team says they have been able to recover cell nuclei of the extinct gastric-brooding frog, Rheobatrachus silus, from tissues collected in the 1970s and kept for 40 years in a conventional deep freezer.  The genome of Rheobatrachus silus, extinct since 1983, has been revived and reactivated by a team of scientists using somatic cell nuclear transfer to implant a "dead" cell nucleus into a fresh egg from another frog species.   Rheobatrachus silus is famous for swallowing its eggs, brooded its young in its stomach and giving birth through its mouth. The "de-…

When Whole Foods announced it will require all of the products on its shelves to have their GMO contents labeled by 2018, the company framed it as an issue of transparency.  ”People have the right to know what is in their food,” said Whole Foods co-CEO John Mackey, quoting the favorite catchphrase of GMO labeling activists. Unfortunately, GMO labeling is likely to achieve exactly the opposite of transparency. First, it’s worth noting that there’s nothing altruistic about the store’s new policy. Roughly half of consumers say they believe GMO labeling is desirable—that’s a significant…

Beating heart cells (cardiomyocytes) are often used as an empowering imagery to depict important scientific advances in stem cell technology; advances that enable scientists to harness human embryonic stem cells to regenerate tissues that cannot easily be replaced, including heart tissue. From the use of controversial human embryonic stem cells, to Yamanaka's discovery of an engineering technology to reprogram human skin cells into cells that are akin to embryonic stem cells (dubbed induced pluripotent stem cells); the beating cardiomyocytes remain a media cliché representing our society's…

Beating heart cells (cardiomyocytes) are often used as an empowering imagery to depict important scientific advances in stem cell technology; advances that enable scientists to harness human embryonic stem cells to regenerate tissues that cannot easily be replaced, including heart tissue. From the use of controversial human embryonic stem cells, to Yamanaka's discovery of an engineering technology to reprogram human skin cells into cells that are akin to embryonic stem cells (dubbed induced pluripotent stem cells); the beating cardiomyocytes remain a media cliché representing our society's…

HeLa cells, named after Henrietta Lacks, whose cells, which were cultured by George Otto Gey to create an immortal cell line for medical research, are the world's most commonly used human cell lines and have served as a standard for understanding many fundamental biological processes. In a new study published today, scientists announce they have successfully sequenced the genome of a HeLa cell line and their high-resolution genomic reference reveals the striking differences between the HeLa genome and that of normal human cells.  For decades HeLa cells have provided effective and easily…

Is your body shape predetermined? Some role for heritage is obvious and there efforts to fix people into an epigenetic destiny as well but it may be that diet and exercise can only do so much. A new paper says body composition, including soft fat tissue and hard bone tissue, which can lead to excess fat or osteoporosis, is genetic. Prof. Gregory Livshits and Dr. Michael Korostishevsky of Tel Aviv University's Department of Anatomy and Anthropology say they have uncovered a clear genetic link between fat and bone mass. These factors, which contribute to bone metabolism, also affect Body Mass…

A protein known as mini-chromosome maintenance (MCM) has been found to change DNA topology and make DNA twist up into a so-called "supercoil". Supercoiling can be thought of as similar to twisting one end of a rubber band while holding the other end still. After a few turns, it forms a neatly twisted rope. But if you keep on turning, the twisted band will twist back upon itself into an increasingly coiled-up knot. Similarly, a DNA molecule can be twisted and coiled to varying extents to form different "supercoiled" structures. Chromosomal DNA forms different supercoiled structures…

In the past few centuries, our understanding of bacteria has progressed from mysterious medieval vapours, to the microscopic "animalcules" of van Leeuwenhoek, to the germ theory of disease à la Pasteur, to the realizations that bacteria outnumber us within our own bodies and that good "probiotic" bacteria actually make us healthier.  Now, a new study seems to have discovered a Batman bacterium.  Well, technically, the bacterium was already well-known; the discovery was to show that this prokaryotic Bruce Wayne is, in fact, Batman. What are the three defining…