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ruth williams

Ruth Williams

Ruth is a freelance journalist. Before freelancing, Ruth was a news editor for the Journal of Cell Biology in New York and an assistant editor for Nature Reviews Neuroscience in London. Prior to that, she was a bona fide pipette-wielding, test tube–shaking, lab coat–shirking research scientist. She has a PhD in genetics from King’s College London, and was a postdoc in stem cell biology at Imperial College London. Today she lives and writes in Connecticut.

Articles by Ruth Williams
DNA cell on scientific background
Mechanism of a Genome Packaging Machine Discovered
Ruth Williams | Jan 17, 2022 | 3 min read
Detailed analyses of cohesin’s movements indicate how this protein complex hauls chromatin fibers to package DNA into loops.
The hinge region of cohesin pulls DNA to two head regions, like a person’s hand-to-hand motion of pulling on a rope.
Infographic: How Genome-Packaging Protein Cohesin Handles DNA
Ruth Williams | Jan 17, 2022 | 1 min read
The hinge region of cohesin pulls DNA to two head regions, like a person’s hand-to-hand motion of pulling on a rope.
Artist's impression of the human microbiome
Diet Implicated in Autism-Microbiome Link
Ruth Williams | Nov 11, 2021 | 3 min read
The unbalanced gut flora present in some people with autism is not a driver of the condition but rather a consequence of eating behaviors characteristic of the condition, a new study claims.
oil in water
Stress-Induced Molecular Globs Boost Bacterial Fitness
Ruth Williams | Oct 21, 2021 | 4 min read
Liquid conglomerations of molecules that form in bacterial cells in response to stress promote the cells’ survival, a study finds.
brain scan showing uptake of tratuzumab into tumor (arrow)
Sound Waves Aid Brain Tumor Treatment
Ruth Williams | Oct 13, 2021 | 3 min read
In a small clinical study, focusing ultrasound beams on tumors in patients’ brains helped open the blood-brain barrier to facilitate drug delivery.
blind mole rat
Blind Mole Rats Use Junk DNA to Combat Cancer
Ruth Williams | Sep 30, 2021 | 3 min read
Activation of retrotransposons in the animals’ cancerous cells sets off an innate immune response that triggers cell death.
Fruit flies in a vial
Accurate Protein Production Promotes Longevity
Ruth Williams | Sep 15, 2021 | 3 min read
Worms, flies, and yeast live longer if the fidelity of their protein-making machinery is improved, a study shows.
Abstract illustration of DNA
Signaling Dynamics Fine-Tune Gene Expression
Ruth Williams | Sep 3, 2021 | 3 min read
The dynamic behavior of a transcriptional activator can be used to specify the activity level of its target gene, a study suggests.
Mouse heart cells that have taken up adipocyte-derived extracellular vesicles (stained red)
Fat Cells Send Mitochondrial Distress Signals to the Heart
Ruth Williams | Aug 20, 2021 | 3 min read
Vesicles containing fragments of the organelles released from stressed adipocytes protect the heart against oxygen deprivation, a study in mice shows.
Plant cryptospore fossil found in 480 million-year-old Australian rock
Discovered: Fossilized Spores Suggestive of Early Land Plants
Ruth Williams | Aug 12, 2021 | 3 min read
Spores found in 480 million-year-old rock bring the fossil record in line with molecular estimates of when plants first adapted to life on land.
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