Developments in forensic genetics may eventually render the old age question of ‘Whodunnit?’ redundant. Certain phenotypes (a person’s outward traits such as eye colour and hair colour) can now be predicted through DNA samples including blood, sperm and saliva. Professor Manfred Kayser, leader of the forensic molecular biology department at Erasmus University Medical Center and… Read more »
In celebration of Charles Darwin’s birthday on the 12th February, BMC Evolutionary Biology shows how his work on natural and sexual selection continues to have relevance in the 21st century. 152 years have passed since ‘On the Origin of the Species’ was published amidst huge controversy and since then his theories have found widespread acceptance… Read more »
Recent reports have suggested that inhibition of RANK ligand (RANKL) – essential in the development of osteoclasts – may also play a role in the management of proliferative breast disease, and that inactivation of the RANK receptor in the mammary epithelium can result in decreasing cases of medroxyprogesterone acetate mammary cancer. Breast Cancer Research has… Read more »
Since July 4, 2005, Saline Systems has been publishing high-quality research articles and reviews on all aspects of saline environments and their micro and macro flora and fauna. With the increasing importance of many aquatic environments to human health and welfare, and the changing salinity of many environments, the journal has taken a decision to… Read more »
Genomics charts new territory today – your nearest pond – with the publication of the water-flea (Daphnia pulex) genome sequence in Science. Intriguingly, the diminutive water-flea contains at least 31,000 genes – more than have so far been found in any other animal – and the genome release marks the first crustacean genome to be… Read more »
Marking today’s publication of the genome of Daphnia pulex in Science, a commentary in BMC Biology by Diethard Tautz, tackles the issue of why and how this diminutive water flea has many more genes than any other animal genome sequenced so far. An ongoing process of gene duplication and retention appears responsible for this, and… Read more »
Bacteriophage T4, a virus that infects E.Coli, has played key roles in some of the major advances in the molecular biology field including the identification of the chemical nature of the gene, elucidating the mechanism of DNA replication, discovering that genes code for proteins, and even deciphering how the genetic code is read. Virology Journal… Read more »