Science News

One of the more difficult aspects of evolution for some people to swallow is the notion that random copying errors in DNA can add up to anything useful. In two recently published projects, however, scientists show how typos can indeed lead to improvements. In numerous species of insects, they document the DNA errors that led to changes that are not only beneficial but also brilliant.

Researchers from Harvard have now encoded an entire book in molecules of DNA- the building blocks of life.

Recent research suggests that more subtle chemical changes to our DNA occur as we age. Now, a comparison of the DNA of a newborn baby with that of a centenarian shows that the scope of these changes can be dramatic, and they may help explain why our risk of cancer and other diseases increases as we get older.

More on AGING: http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?tag=aging

DNA may be ‘selfish’, but the emergent behaviour of cells can get pretty altruistic at times!

Okay, so maybe not your next one, but in a few year's time? Maybe your storage will be writ across DNA itself. Researchers at Stanford have developed a method to store binary code on DNA.

BIOTECHNOLOGY: http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?tag=biotechnology

University of Bristol researchers have discovered a new group of molecules called called mirror-microRNAs that control some of the fundamental processes behind memory function and may hold the key to developing new therapies for treating neurodegenerative diseases.

Genetics | Out of all the possible molecules in the world, just two form the basis of life’s grand variety: DNA and RNA.

Articles about GENETICS: http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?tag=genetics

Analyzing massive amounts of data officially became a national priority recently when the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy announced the Big Data Research and Development Initiative.

Over 13 billion years ago at least one of the domains of life may have begun in nebular clouds. If restricted to the Milky Way, which is 13.6 billion years old, the first chemical combinations would have had billions of years to become a self-replicating organism with a DNA genome long before the existence of Earth.

A study of over 12,000 men and women reveals that a brisk daily walk can change how the DNA your mother and father gave you affects your body, particularly the 32 genes that have been linked to a person's body mass index, or BMI, a ratio of height and weight used to determine if someone is obese. After indexing how many variants of the weight-gain genes each person in the study had, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health concluded that "for every genetic variant, the effect on BMI was to increase it by 0.13 kg/m2."

Researchers at the Wyss Institute at Harvard have created more than 100 three-dimensional nanostructures using DNA building blocks that function like Lego® bricks.…...

Ever feel like your sons are always on your mind? Actually, it might be more true that you think – researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have found traces of male DNA in women’s brains, which seems to come from cells from a baby boy crossing the blood-brain barrier during pregnancy. This is known as microchimerism, and according to the researchers, this is the first description of male microchimerism in the female human brain.

Using a powerful DNA sequencing methodology, researchers have now investigated the three-dimensional structure of DNA folds in the nucleus of a chromosome.

According to a paper just published (but available online since 2010), we haven't found any genes for personality.

Articles about NEUROSCIENCE: http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?page=1&tag=neuroscience

Have you ever felt like you're really a fish? That you love the water, you want to swim forever, that you should don an artificial tail and eat kelp for the rest of your life? Then congratulations, you're crazy.