From the time we choose whether to hit the snooze button or get up, we make countless decisions every day, but just how the brain manages this mundane task is still shrouded in mystery. Now, researchers at Oxford University have observed in detail the mechanism that lets fruit flies make decisions.
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As if it’s not bad enough that bacteria are increasingly becoming resistant to our best antibiotics, some bugs are even eating the drugs. Scientists have now examined just how the bacteria disarm and consume the antibiotics as food, uncovering new potential ways to fight back against resistance.
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Study of animal behavior is a slow process, with human observers spending years watching and classifying different actions. A team from Columbia University is determined to develop an easier, and more objective method using machine learning and algorithms often used for spam-filtering purposes.
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A team from Duke University has used the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technique to switch off certain genes in mice to reduce cholesterol levels, marking the first time CRISPR has been used to silence genes – without making edits – in adult animals.
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Using techniques borrowed from astronomy, biologists have developed a new microscopy technique that delivers extraordinary 3D video of cells moving around inside living tissue. It's a fascinating window into just how busy and complex life is at the cellular level.
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Researchers at UC Berkeley have now mapped out the structure of telomerase – an enzyme known to play a key role in aging and cancer – in more detail than ever before, and the breakthrough could inform a new generation of highly-targeted drugs.
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Humanity might not go out with a bang, but a sniffle – at least if the terrifyingly-plausible “superbug” scenario comes to pass. But now, researchers at Oxford University have discovered a “genetic catalyst” that lets the bugs develop resistance – and they might be able to switch it off.
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When we think of the structure of DNA, the image that most likely comes to mind is that of the iconic double helix. Now, Australian scientists have found a new form, a twisted knot known as the i-motif, in living cells for the first time.
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Surgeons at Johns Hopkins University have carried out the first ever complete transplant of a penis and scrotum. The procedure is being hailed as a success, with the recipient now on the mend and the team optimistic that he will regain close to regular function of his genitalia.
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Ants have an incredible capacity to work together for the good of the clan, but a freshly discovered species shows just how far they are willing to go. Colobopsis explodens has been observed in the rainforests of southeast Asia making the ultimate sacrifice.
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