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Tree with many scattered branches.
Scientists Resurrect Ancient Rubiscos to Understand Their Evolution
A team proposes that the addition of a small accessory subunit to the carbon-fixing enzyme was key to improving its catalytic properties and specificity to CO2.
Scientists Resurrect Ancient Rubiscos to Understand Their Evolution
Scientists Resurrect Ancient Rubiscos to Understand Their Evolution

A team proposes that the addition of a small accessory subunit to the carbon-fixing enzyme was key to improving its catalytic properties and specificity to CO2.

A team proposes that the addition of a small accessory subunit to the carbon-fixing enzyme was key to improving its catalytic properties and specificity to CO2.

News & Opinion

News feature
Photo of a shallow, drying pond blocked off by a low fence in a hilly grassland with trees in the background.
Severe Drought, Heat Upended Research This Summer
Dan Robitzski | Oct 13, 2022 | 8 min read
Researchers scramble to adapt as bouts of severe heat and aridity increasingly become the norm.
News feature
Photo of a long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) sitting on a rock overlooking a large body of water.
What Happens to Science When Model Organisms Become Endangered?
Dan Robitzski | Oct 13, 2022 | 9 min read
The long-tailed macaque and pig-tailed macaque are now endangered in the wild according to the IUCN Red List, which says exports for monkey research are partially to blame.
exterior of Fred Hutch research building
Fred Hutch Receives $710 Million Gift from the Bezos Family
Shawna Williams | Oct 13, 2022 | 1 min read
The donation will fund recruitment, research facilities, clinical research, and immunotherapy research.
Happy woman surrounded by children
Pediatric Oncologist Audrey Evans Dies at 97
Lisa Winter | Oct 12, 2022 | 3 min read
Evans advanced the field of pediatric cancer treatment and cofounded the first Ronald McDonald House in 1974 to help families with sick children.
Drawing of a mouse scratching itself after watching a video of a different mouse scratching itself.
Specialized Brain Circuit Makes Mice Itchy When They See Others Scratch
Dan Robitzski | Oct 12, 2022 | 4 min read
A previously undetected pathway in the mouse brain bypasses the visual cortex to directly activate contagious itch.
a section of a rat brain is imaged in dull green. a much brighter green human organoid takes up a large portion of the left side of the brain.
Researchers Transplant Human Neurons into Rat Brains
Katherine Irving | Oct 12, 2022 | 2 min read
The human cells, engineered to respond to blue light, influenced rat behavior when stimulated.
Microscope image of interconnected neurons, which appear as colorful starbursts of light.
How Neurons in a Dish Learned to Play “Pong”
Dan Robitzski | Oct 12, 2022 | 5 min read
The DishBrain system can send and receive electrophysiological signals to and from living neurons, training the cells to accomplish a task.
A person in a white shirt activates a nasal spray
Oxford-AstraZeneca Nasal COVID-19 Vaccine Falters in Clinical Trial
Dan Robitzski | Oct 11, 2022 | 2 min read
Researchers say they’re abandoning the project in its current form—one of several that aims to induce what’s known as mucosal immunity against SARS-CoV-2.
Microscopy image of the cnidarian <em>Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus&nbsp;</em>with cell nuclei stained blue and oocytes stained yellow
Ancient Immunoglobulin Genes Help Cnidarians Decide to Fight or Fuse
Sophie Fessl, PhD | Oct 11, 2022 | 4 min read
Immunoglobulin genes might have evolved much earlier than previously expected, perhaps even in the common ancestor of Cnidarians and Bilateria, a study suggests.
Mosquito on leaf stock photo
Combating Mosquito-Borne Diseases with CRISPR
Niki Spahich, PhD | Oct 11, 2022 | 4 min read
As alternatives to insecticides, Omar Akbari uses sophisticated genetic engineering methods to solve the world’s mosquito problems.
a three star rating displays next to a bowl of fruits and vegetables with a stethoscope, scale, and other health and fitness supplies in the background.
5-Star Rating System Ranks the Validity of Health Advice
Katherine Irving | Oct 10, 2022 | 2 min read
The proposed tool aims to inject clarity into the often-murky science of health risk factors, but some experts are skeptical that it’ll succeed.
Man with blue shirt and tie smiling at camera.
Pharmacologist and Olympian David Bailey Dies at 77
Lisa Winter | Oct 7, 2022 | 3 min read
He was best known for his discovery that grapefruit juice makes some medications less effective or potentially dangerous.
Lipid nanoparticle delivers treatment to a cancer cell.
Researchers Develop a CRISPR-Based Therapy That Penetrates Solid Tumors
Jennifer Zieba, PhD | Oct 10, 2022 | 3 min read
By packaging lipid nanoparticles with elements that decrease the fibrous nature of solid tumors, researchers can deliver CRISPR therapies in a more efficient manner.
3D representation of a DNA helix and with a base offset from the main helix, illustrating the concept of base editing.
A CRISPR Alternative for Correcting Mutations That Sensitize Cells to DNA Damage
Deanna MacNeil, PhD | Oct 10, 2022 | 3 min read
Researchers turned to base editors to correct mutations causing the rare genetic disease Fanconi anemia without inducing double-strand DNA breaks.
Squiggly green cilia on blue human beta cells
Pancreatic Cell Cilia Wiggle to Control Insulin Release
Shafaq Zia | Oct 6, 2022 | 3 min read
Tiny hairlike structures on pancreatic cells have long been considered static sensors. Now, researchers say they move and help regulate insulin secretion.
a false color transmission electron microscope image of a neuronal cell body, with lysosomes colored dark green
Scientists Uncover Major Pathway Cells Use to Mend Leaky Lysosomes
Holly Barker, PhD | Oct 6, 2022 | 3 min read
Damaged lysosomes are repaired by a lipid-based signaling pathway dubbed PITT that could be targeted to treat neurodegenerative disease, its discoverers say.
A composite headshot of Camila Behrensen (left) and Pablo Guzm&aacute;n Palma (right)
Two Allegedly Murdered Scientists Found in Apartment Fire
Amanda Heidt | Oct 5, 2022 | 2 min read
Emergency responders arrived at a structure fire in Kansas City to find the two graduate students suffering from “apparent trauma” before they were declared dead at the scene.
outline of a brain slice with white patch surrounded by teal
Astrocytes Feed Glioblastoma, Promoting Tumor Growth: Mouse Study
Patience Asanga | Oct 5, 2022 | 3 min read
Starving glioblastoma tumors of the cholesterol made by astrocytes could suppress brain cancer progression.
blue-gloved hands pipetting from test tube
What’s Next for Ancient DNA Studies After the Nobel?
Mary Prendergast, The Conversation | Oct 5, 2022 | 4 min read
The award highlights tremendous opportunities for aDNA as well as challenges related to rapid growth, equity, and misinformation.
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