Scientists have genetically modified isolated microbes for decades. Now, using CRISPR, they intend to target entire microbiomes.

Sequences for the model organism and two of its kin reveal how these plants got their oversized genomes.

Researchers aim to unravel the molecular mechanisms by which a single genotype gives rise to diverse castes in eusocial organisms.

Photo: Steve Bunk Dave Tinnin, field research associate in the University of New Mexico's biology department, takes blood samples and measurements of rodents caught on the research station grounds. At the end of a freeway exit near Soccoro, N.M., the hairpin turn onto a gravel road is marked by a sign that warns, "Wrong Way." But it isn't the wrong way if you want to reach the University of New Mexico's (UNM) long-term ecological research (LTER) station. The sign's subterfuge is the first indi

Courtesy of Steven Rock HEADING OFF RUNOFF: Trees planted in Amana, Iowa, to protect stream from agricultural run-off Humankind has passed a remarkable environmental milestone: People now consume more of Earth's natural resources than the planet can replace.1 In light of this, pollution abatement technologies, coupled with development of renewable energy resources, seem destined to become big business during the 21st century. What is unfolding is a multidisciplinary, biology-led wave of

Courtesy of Eric Erbe and Chris Pooley, ARS Image Gallery  SPRING CLEANING TARGETS: Tyrophagus putrescentiae, better known as dust mites, are microscopic, sightless, eight-legged arthropods that are natural inhabitants of indoor environments. Their droppings are the most common trigger of perennial allergy and asthma symptoms. Asthma is a classic example of gene-environment interaction. A host of environmental triggers, from cigarette smoke to cockroaches, can set it off. A dozen or so g

Jumping genes in bdelloid rotifers are tamped down by DNA methylation performed by an enzyme pilfered from bacteria roughly 60 million years ago, a study finds.

Studies have found that organisms can inherit mitochondria from male parents in rare instances, and both theoretical and experimental work hint that this biparental inheritance is more than just a fluke.

Biofilms are home to millions of microbes, but disrupting their interactions could produce more effective antibiotics.

Photo: Ori Fragman, Hebrew University Hordeum spontaneum, the plant studied for BARE-1 retroelements. With genome sequences arriving almost as regularly as the morning paper, the public's attention is focused on genes--new genes to protect crops against pests; rogue genes that make bacteria resistant to antibiotics; faulty genes that, if fixed, could cure diseases such as muscular dystrophy. What many people don't realize is that genes account for only part of an organism's DNA, and in many c