Summaries | Headlines

Green Algae: The Nexus Of Plant-Animal Ancestry (October 12, 2007) -- Genes of a tiny, single-celled green alga called Chlamydomonas reinhardtii may contain scores more data about the common ancestry of plants and animals than the richest paleontological dig. ... > full story

New Mathematical Model Unravels The Mechanics Of Microbe Reproduction (October 12, 2007) -- In process that is shrouded in mystery, rod-shaped bacteria reproduce by splitting themselves in two. By applying advanced mathematics to laboratory data, scientists have solved a small but important ... > full story

Repressor Protein Blocks Neural Stem Cell Development (October 12, 2007) -- A protein known to repress gene transcription at the molecular level in a variety of processes also blocks embryonic neural stem cells from differentiating into neurons, according to a new ... > full story

A Gene Divided Reveals The Details Of Natural Selection (October 12, 2007) -- Scientists show how, over many generations, a single yeast gene divides in two and parses its responsibilities to be a more efficient denizen of its environment. The work illustrates, at the most ... > full story

Benefits Of 80 Million Years Without Sex (October 12, 2007) -- Scientists have discovered how a microscopic organism has benefited from nearly 80 million years without sex. Bdelloid rotifers are asexual organisms, meaning that they reproduce without males. ... > full story

Difference Between Fish And Humans: Century-old Developmental Question Answered (October 12, 2007) -- Embryologists have helped solve an evolutionary riddle that has been puzzling scientists for over a century. They have identified a key mechanism in the initial stages of an embryo's development that ... > full story

In Biology, Polarization Is A Good Thing (October 11, 2007) -- Using a molecular cellular compass, individual cells in complex organisms know which way is up or down, in epithelial cells known as apical-basal polarity. Determining the orientation is essential ... > full story

New Insights On 'Jumping Genes' (October 11, 2007) -- New light has been shed on the evolution of moveable genetic elements, or "jumping genes." This discovery has important implications for our understanding of molecular evolution and genetic research ... > full story

Hairy Roots Show Potential As Biofactories For Medicines, Commercial Products (October 11, 2007) -- Scientists are reporting an advance towards tapping the immense potential of 'hairy roots' as natural factories to produce medicines, food flavorings and other commercial products. The new research ... > full story

Neighborly Care Keeps Stem Cells Young (October 11, 2007) -- A stem cell's immediate neighborhood, a specialized environment also known as the stem cell niche, provides crucial support needed for stem cell maintenance. But nothing lasts forever. During the ... > full story

Gene Targeting Pioneers Win Nobel Prize For Discoveries In Embryonic Stem Cells And DNA Recombination (October 8, 2007) -- The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has awarded The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2007 jointly to Mario R. Capecchi, Martin J. Evans and Oliver Smithies for their discoveries of ... > full story

How A Benign Fungus Can Become Life-Threatening (October 8, 2007) -- A newly discovered molecular mechanism provides a more detailed understanding of how the normally benign Dr. Jekyll-like fungus known as Candida albicans transforms into a serious and often ... > full story

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Developmental biology -- Developmental biology is the study of the process by which organisms grow and develop. Modern developmental biology studies the genetic control of cell growth, differentiation and "morphogenesis," ... > full article

Somatic cell -- A somatic cell is generally taken to mean any cell forming the body of an organism. Somatic cells, by definition, are not germline cells. In mammals, germline cells are the sperm and ova (also known ... > full article

Mammalian embryogenesis -- Mammalian embryogenesis is the process of cell division and cellular differentiation which leads to the development of a mammalian embryo. A mammal develops from a single cell called a zygote, which ... > full article

Embryo -- In organisms that reproduce sexually, once a sperm fertilizes an egg cell, the result is a cell called the zygote that has all the DNA of two parents. In plants, animals, and some protists, the ... > full article

Germ layer -- A germ layer is a collection of cells, formed during animal embryogenesis. Germ layers are only really pronounced in the vertebrates. However, all animals more complex than sponges (eumetazoans and ... > full article

Chromosomal crossover -- Homologous recombination is the process by which two chromosomes, paired up during prophase 1 of meiosis, exchange some distal portion of their DNA. Crossover occurs when two chromosomes, normally ... > full article

Morphogenesis -- Morphogenesis is one of three fundamental aspects of developmental biology along with the control of cell growth and cellular differentiation. Morphogenesis is concerned with the shapes of tissues, ... > full article

Human biology -- Human biology is an academic field of biology which focuses on humans; it is closely related to medicine, primate biology, and a number of other fields. A human being is a multicellular eukaryote ... > full article

How internal organs form -- In animal development, organogenesis is the process by which the ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm develop into the internal organs of the organism. The germ layers in organogenesis differ by three ... > full article

Meiosis -- In biology, meiosis is the process by which one diploid eukaryotic cell divides to generate four haploid cells often called gametes. Meiosis is essential for sexual reproduction and therefore ... > full article

Mitosis -- In biology, mitosis is the process by which a cell separates its duplicated genome into two identical halves. It is generally followed immediately by cytokinesis which divides the cytoplasm and cell ... > full article

Fertilisation -- Fertilisation, also spelt fertilization (also known as conception, fecundation and syngamy), is fusion of gametes to form a new organism of the same species. In animals, the process involves a sperm ... > full article

Biological tissue -- Biological tissue is a collection of interconnected cells that perform a similar function within an organism. The study of tissue is known as histology, or, in connection with disease, ... > full article

Genetic recombination -- Genetic recombination is the transmission-genetic process by which the combinations of alleles observed at different loci in two parental individuals become shuffled in offspring individuals. In ... > full article

Somatic cell nuclear transfer -- In genetics and developmental biology, somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a laboratory technique for creating an ovum with a donor nucleus. It can be used in embryonic stem cell research, or in ... > full article

Umbilical cord -- In placental mammals, the umbilical cord is a tube that connects a developing embryo or fetus to its placenta. It contains one or two major vessels, buried within Wharton's jelly, for the exchange of ... > full article

Human cloning -- Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of an existing, or previously existing, human being or growing cloned tissue from that individual. The term is generally used to refer to ... > full article

Adult stem cell --

Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells found throughout the body that divide to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Also known as somatic  stem cells, they can be found ... > full article

Biological life cycle -- A life cycle is a period involving one generation of an organism through means of reproduction, whether through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction. In regard to its ploidy, there are three ... > full article

Placenta -- The placenta is an ephemeral (temporary) organ present only in female placental vertebrates during gestation (pregnancy). All mammals other than monotremes and (most) marsupials utilise placentas in ... > full article