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Categories: Biology: Biotechnology, Biology: Evolutionary

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Researchers reveal how DNA gyrase resolves DNA entanglements. The findings not only provide novel insights into this fundamental biological mechanism but also have potential practical applications. Gyrases are biomedical targets for the treatment of bacterial infections and the similar human versions of the enzymes are targets for many anti-cancer drugs. Better understanding of how gyrases work at the molecular level can potentially improve clinical treatments.

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Most disease-causing bacteria are known for their speed: In mere minutes, they can double their population, quickly making a person sick. But just as dangerous as this rapid growth can be a bacterium's resting state, which helps the pathogen evade antibiotics and contributes to severe chronic infections in the lungs and blood, within wounds, and on the surfaces of medical devices. Now, scientists have discovered how long chains of molecules called polyphosphates (polyP) are needed for bacteria to slow down movements within cells and let them enter this resting state.

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Vitamin B1 is an essential micronutrient for human beings. Its deficiency is the cause of numerous diseases of the nervous and cardiovascular systems. Researchers have achieved a significant advance in the fight against vitamin B1 deficiency, frequently associated with a rice-based diet. By specifically targeting the nourishing tissues of the rice grain, the scientists have succeeded in considerably increasing its vitamin B1 content, without compromising agronomic yield. These results could help solve a major public health problem in regions where rice is the staple food.

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Researchers show that ozone levels, such as those found in many places on hot summer days today, destroy the sex pheromones of fruit fly species. As a result, some natural mating boundaries maintained by species-specific pheromones no longer exist. The research team has shown in experiments that flies of different species mate when exposed to ozone and produce hybrid offspring. Since most of these offspring are unable to reproduce, the results could provide another explanation for the global decline of insects.

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Researchers have identified 14 genes that thale cress -- a plant commonly used in genetic investigations since its genome is well documented -- express more when responding to five specific stressors, as well as eight genes that the plant suppresses.

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Traces of DNA in the stomachs of predatory snails give a team og geobiologists new insights into the ecology of placozoans.

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Findings show a newly created drug can prevent runaway inflammation while still allowing the immune system to handle the virus, even when given late into infection.

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A new study reveals the detailed protein structure of the TAS2R14, a bitter taste receptor that allows us to perceive bitter taste. In addition to solving the structure of this taste receptor, the researchers were also able to determine where bitter-tasting substances bind to TAS2R14 and how they activate them. The findings may lead to the development of drugs that targeting taste receptors.

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Researchers have developed a novel method of adding polyethylene glycol molecules to engineered groups of messenger RNAs called 'mRNA polyplexes', which enable the cells that receive them to produce specific proteins. This technique allows greater control of the site in the body to which the polyplexes are delivered, significantly advancing the field of therapeutic mRNA technologies, with applications in vaccine development and the treatment of cancer and other diseases.

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Early jawless fish were likely to have used bony projections surrounding their mouths to modify the mouth's shape while they collected food. Experts have used CT scanning techniques to build up the first 3D pictures of these creatures, which are some of the earliest vertebrates (animals with backbones) in which the mouth is fossilized. Their aim was to answer questions about feeding in early vertebrates without jaws in the early Devonian epoch -- sometimes called the Age of Fishes -- around 400 million years ago.

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Researchers decode repair mechanism during transcription of genetic information.

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The first birdfeeders were made in the 19th century, and their design rapidly evolved during the 20th century. Researchers at the consider the evolution of the birdfeeder to be an example of multispecies design, where unwanted guests have shaped the human-made artifact.

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Researchers have made a significant advancement toward understanding how the human genome is organized inside a single cell. This knowledge is crucial for analyzing how DNA structure influences gene expression and disease processes.

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Researchers have compiled a detailed catalogue of bacteria living in cancer metastases. Having analyzed over 4000 tumors, they shed light on the diversity of these co-inhabitants and how they might interact with cancer cells and their surroundings. For example, certain bacteria were linked to a worse response to immunotherapy. This study paves the way to a better understanding of how bacteria help or hinder cancer (therapy), and how we can use this for patients' advantage.

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A new diagnostic tool developed by researchers can test for SARS-CoV-2 and Zika virus with the same or better accuracy as high-precision PCR tests in a matter of hours.

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Researchers have discovered that a worm commonly used in the study of biology uses a set of proteins unlike those seen in other studied organisms to protect the ends of its DNA.

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Scientists have successfully grown 'mini kidneys' in the lab and grafted them into live mice, revealing new insights into the metabolic defects and a potential therapy for polycystic kidney disease.

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Genetic analysis finds evidence suggesting that acoustic fat bodies in the heads of toothed whales were once the muscles and bone marrow of the jaw.

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Scientists are amazed at the discovery of a bristle worm with such sharp-seeing eyes that they can measure up to those of mammals and octopuses. The researchers suspect that these marine worms may have a secretive language, which uses UV light only seen by their own species. The advanced vision of such a primitive creature helps to finally settle an epic debate about the evolution of eyes.

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A new dataset bridging molecular information about the poplar tree microbiome to ecosystem-level processes has been released. The project aims to inform research regarding how natural systems function, their vulnerability to a changing climate, and ultimately how plants might be engineered for better performance as sources of bioenergy and natural carbon storage.