An easier way to engineer plants
MIT-led team uses nanoparticles to deliver genes into plant chloroplasts.
Why too much DNA repair can injure tissue
Overactive repair system promotes cell death following DNA damage by certain toxins, study shows.
Biologists answer fundamental question about cell size
The need to produce just the right amount of protein is behind the striking uniformity of sizes.
Scientists engineer new CRISPR platform for DNA targeting
CRISPR team harnesses new Cas12b enzyme for use in eukaryotic cells, adding to the CRISPR toolbox.
Revising the textbook on introns
Whitehead Institute researchers uncover a group of introns in yeast that possess surprising stability and function.
DNA design that anyone can do
Computer program can translate a free-form 2-D drawing into a DNA structure.
Engineering "capture compounds" to probe cell growth
Researchers develop a method to investigate how bacteria respond to starvation and to identify which proteins bind to the “magic spot” — ppGpp.
Tracking the footprints of protein synthesis
Researchers refine a method to quantify protein production, show that the precision with which bacteria and eukaryotes tune their gene expression is remarkably similar.
Team invents method to shrink objects to the nanoscale
It’s not quite the Ant-Man suit, but the system produces 3-D structures one thousandth the size of the originals.
The long and short of CDK12
A new study linking RNA processing to DNA repair may open new avenues to cancer therapy.
New CRISPR tool opens up more of the genome for editing
Enzyme can target almost half of the genome’s “ZIP codes” and could enable editing of many more disease-specific mutations.
This RNA-based technique could make gene therapy more effective
Biological engineers design RNA circuits that enable precise control over the dose of therapeutic protein a patient receives.
Taming “information hazards” in synthetic biology research
Cryptography techniques to screen synthetic DNA could help prevent the creation of dangerous pathogens, argues Professor Kevin Esvelt.
Detangling DNA replication
Researchers identify an essential protein that helps enzymes relax overtwisted DNA so each strand can be copied during cell division.
Tissue architecture affects chromosome segregation
Biologists discover that the environment surrounding a cell plays an integral role in its ability to accurately segregate its chromosomes.