cell & molecular biology, genetics & genomics

Three Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are offering $3 million to scientists demonstrating excellence in biology and medical research.

Disruptions in the interaction between nuclear and mitochondrial DNA can lead to deficiencies in the mitochondrial energy-generating process, affecting fitness.

Protein aggregates in the brains of some people with dementia or motor neuron disease have a surprising origin.

A study finds that the genomes of swine and human flu viruses associated with a county fair in Ohio are almost perfectly matched, suggesting interspecies transmission.

Scientists identify a false assumption of standard gene expression analyses that could lead to the reappraisal of many prior studies.

Swapping chromosomes from one human egg to another could eliminate mitochondrial DNA mutations that cause disease.

Researchers find that a deadly bacterial disease hitchhikes in people infected with the virus that causes AIDS to spread throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

On the 10th anniversary of The Scientist’s survey of life science academics, institutions are contending with tighter budgets and larger administrative staffs, while working to sustain and inspire their researchers.

The first full computer model of a single-celled organism mimics the bacterium’s behaviors and paves the way to more complete disease models.

Rather than rely on plant-derived products, biotech companies are engineering bacteria and yeast to produce ingredients for fragrances.

Synthetic biologists harness software to design genes and networks.

In Chapter , "Genes, Freaks, DNA," author Sam Kean draws parallels between the lives of Gregor Mendel and Johannes Friedrich Miescher, who both made scientific discoveries that were truly ahead of their times.

Researchers identify two new DNA repair systems, in addition to four that were already known, that can attack unprotected telomeres.

Fly circadian behavior is dramatically different in natural environments than in the lab.

Researchers question earlier findings of a new mechanism for gene regulation.

Research in yeast shows that aneuploidy is both a consequence of and an adaptation to stress.

Chromosomes accidentally stranded outside of the nucleus could contribute to cancer formation.

In its brief, 4-year history, The Scientist’s annual Top 10 Innovations contest has become a showcase of the coolest life science tools to emerge in the previous year. 

Our list of the best and brightest products that 2011 had to offer the life scientist

Researchers have mapped out the DNA of what some scientists claim to be an arsenic loving bacterium.