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Gene-sequence data is changing the way that botanists think about their classification schemes. A recent name-change for a common houseplant resulted from the discovery that it belonged in an overlooked genus.
An ambitious study in yeast shows that the health of cells depends on the highly intertwined effects of many genes, few of which can be deleted together without consequence.
Preserving its DNA ought to be a cell’s top priority. But bacteria slow their DNA repair to a crawl in favor of proofreading gene transcripts.
Studies of the energy-harvesting proteins in primitive cells suggest that key features of photosynthesis might have evolved a billion years earlier than scientists thought.
If DNA repair makes useful mutations more likely, it could accelerate cells’ adaptations to harsh environments.
Species gain and shed startling amounts of DNA as they evolve, and even genomes that look stable churn furiously. What does it mean?
Mathematical insights into how RNA helps viruses pull together their protein shells could guide future studies of viral behavior and function.
Sex might help natural selection purge excessive mistakes from our genes.
New techniques expose unexpected diversity within seemingly uniform tissues.