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Tag Archives: genes

Deadly new virus emerges

By Janet Raloff / March 19, 2013

Microscopic photo of the new germ, shown in false color. Credit: NIAID/NIH

A mysterious infection has been spreading for almost a year

Posted in Body & Health | Tagged CDC, Centers for Disease Control, coronavirus, epidemic, Eric Snijder, genes, germs, getinvolved, Gwen Stephens, immune system, immunity, infections, inflammation, Leiden University Medical Center, lung disease, microbiology, Mohamed Zaki, mucus, mutate, mutations, pandemic, pneumonia, Saliva, SARS, Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health, Susan Gerber, Tina Saey

Whale of a lesson

By Eric Wagner / March 7, 2013

A North Atlantic right whale lifts its tail to dive in the Bay of Fundy. Credit: Eric Wagner

Once given up as all but extinct, the North Atlantic right whale is making a comeback

Posted in Animals | Tagged Amy Knowlton, baleen, biology, blubber, callosity, cetaceans, citizen science, conservation, ecology, entanglement, feature, fishing, genes, genetics, keratin, mammalogy, marine policy, marine science, Mark Baumgartner, Moira Brown, New England Aquarium, oceans, right whales, Saint Mary’s University, Scott Kraus, shipping, ships, Tim Frasier, whale oil, Whales, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Fancy feather gene

By Stephen Ornes / February 15, 2013

This Indian fantail, one of 350 breeds of rock pigeons, has a tuft of feathers called a peak crest. Scientists recently pinpointed the gene mutation responsible for this feather formation. Credit: Michael Shapiro

A tweak in a single pigeon gene causes a distinct feather formation

Posted in Animals | Tagged birds, cells, crests, DNA, feathers, genes, genetic mutations, genetics, getinvolved, Michael Shapiro, University of Utah

Genetic memory

By Stephen Ornes / February 8, 2013

A DNA molecule looks like a twisted ladder. Scientists have found a way to use the rungs of that ladder to store data efficiently. Credit: NHGRI

The stuff of genes can be used to store digital data, too

Posted in Computers & Electronics, Technology & Engineering | Tagged bioengineering, biology, computer science, data storage, deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA, Drew Endy, engineering, England, European Bioinformatics Institute, genes, getinvolved, nature, Nick Goldman, nucleotides, Stanford, synthetic DNA

Cool Jobs: Crime scene investigators

By Sid Perkins / December 5, 2012

The dead do tell tales — if experts care to listen. Forensic anthropologist William Bass arranges a display of how a person’s bones change year by year as we age. This information can help identify a crime victim when little else is known. Credit: University of Tennessee, Knoxville

These researchers don’t miss a clue

Posted in Chemistry, STEM Careers | Tagged blood, blowflies, bones, cadaver, cool jobs, crime scene, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, DNA, evidence, FBI, feature, fingerprints, Forensic Anthropology Center, forensics, genes, Kendall Stoner, maggots, polymerase chain reaction, Reanna Day, the Body Farm, William Bass

Bacteria learn new trick

By Stephen Ornes / October 12, 2012

A decades-long experiment growing E. coli bacteria showed the microbes evolved the ability to eat a new food. Flasks of the germs turned cloudy when the bacteria ate citrate. Credit: Brian Baer and Neerja Hajela

Scientists show evolution in action in decades-long E. coli study

Posted in Microbes, Fungi & Algae | Tagged Adaptation, bacteria, biology, Bruce Levin, citric acid, E. coli, Emory University, evolution, evolutionary biology, evolve, genes, germs, getinvolved, Massey University, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Michigan State University, mutate, mutations, Paul Rainey, Richard Lenski, Zachary Blount

Twins don’t share everything

By Stephen Ornes / July 31, 2012

At birth, identical twins have differences in the chemical markers attached to their DNA. These differences may help explain why they don't look exactly the same. Credit: Todd Huffman

Twins carry different flags on their DNA, even from birth

Posted in Body & Health | Tagged Arturas Petronis, cells, classical genetics, DNA, embryos, epigenetic, epigenetics, genes, genetics, getinvolved, heredity, Jeffrey Craig, methyl groups, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, twins, University of Toronto, wins

What’s on your genes?

By Sharon Pochron / September 21, 2011

Tiny genetic switches create big differences

Posted in Body & Health | Tagged classical genetics, DNA, epigenetics, feature, genes, twins

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