Category Archives: Biology

RNA Interference Technology Will Improve Pharmaceutical Production

By jyaron | Published: November 22, 2009
RNA interference, or RNAi, has become a novel and useful tool for silencing gene expression in both cells and organisms as well as in developing therapies for diseases. A new study out of Taiwan has recently been published outlining how RNAi technology can be used to vastly increase the quantity and quality of recombinant protein [...]
Also posted in Cell Biology, Genetics, Genomics, Health & Medicine, Proteomics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 962 Comments

New Insight About Why Chimpanzees Can’t Speak, But We Can

By jyaron | Published: November 13, 2009
Why is it that humans can speak, but chimpanzees, with their >98% genetic identity to humans, can’t? For almost a decade scientists have known that the FOXP2 gene is responsible for the mendelian development of language in humans. Theories abound about how a mere 2 amino acid change may have been all that was needed [...]
Also posted in Evolutionary Biology, Zoology | Tagged , , , , , , | 2052 Comments

First Synthetic Cellulosome In Yeast Created

By jyaron | Published: November 2, 2009
ScienceDaily (Nov. 2, 2009) — A team of researchers led by University of California, Riverside (UCR) Professor of Chemical Engineering Wilfred Chen has constructed for the first time a synthetic cellulosome in yeast, which is much more ethanol-tolerant than the bacteria in which these structures are normally found.
Also posted in Cell Biology, Microbiology | Tagged , , , | 1968 Comments

New Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques Directly Image Drug Delivery

By jyaron | Published: October 31, 2009
X Sunney Wei and others at Harvard University recently demonstrated a new technique for stimulated emission microscopy that allows high resolution imaging of generally non-fluorescent chromophores (such as drugs). This imaging technique relies on pumped laser sources and new techniques for obtaining the fluorescent emission streams. Use of this sort of microscopy could lead to [...]
Also posted in Cell Biology, Microbiology, Microscopy | Tagged , , , , | 2135 Comments

36 Beautiful and Amazing Biology-themed T-Shirts

By jyaron | Published: September 11, 2009
What better way to celebrate your love of biology than to wear it proudly for everyone to see? Here is a collection of 36 beautiful, clever, and hilarious biology-themed t-shirts. The rest of the shirts after the break.
Also posted in Cell Biology, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Lists, Microbiology, Microscopy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3143 Comments

Mitochondrial gene replacement in primate offspring and embryonic stem cells

By jyaron | Published: September 6, 2009
Researchers at the Oregon National Primate Research Center have successfully replaced damaged and diseased mitochondria (and, likewise, their mtDNA) with healthy mitochondria with no apparent side effects in Macaca mulatta. This has strong implications for future treatment and prevention of mitochondrial DNA associated diseases. Original Publication in Nature : Mitochondrial gene replacement in primate offspring [...]
Also posted in Cell Biology, Genetics, Health & Medicine | Tagged , , , , , , | 2235 Comments

Monkeys Enjoy Music.. Their OWN Music.

By jyaron | Published: September 5, 2009
While monkeys prefer silence in the presence of human music, they apparently enjoy the music produced by themselves and their own vocal chords. This could provide significant improvements in the lives of captive animals and offers a unique look at the dynamics of animal physiology and psychology. Read More Read the original publication
Also posted in Zoology | Tagged , , , | 1313 Comments

5 Great Online Tools for Biologists

By jyaron | Published: August 9, 2009
Biology (and its related fields) are less and less frequently sciences that must only be studied in the field. There are a great number of resources online that can aid biologists and researchers in expanding the productivity of their research. Here are 5 great online tools for biologists and researchers. 1. BLAST Database The NCBI [...]
Also posted in Cell Biology, Genetics, Genomics, Lists, Microbiology, Microscopy, Proteomics, Web Resources | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2409 Comments

New Web-based Evolution Tool

By jyaron | Published: August 7, 2009
Sudhir Kumar (Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University) and  Blair Hedges (Penn State) have released a new web-based tool for comparing the evolutionary divergence times between multiple organisms. The tool is called the Timetree of Life and it (along with the book published at the same time) is expected to become a top resource for evolutionary [...]
Also posted in Evolutionary Biology, Web Resources | Tagged , , , | 1905 Comments