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molecular biology

Latest Articles

The Joy of Why

Can We Program Our Cells?

By Steven Strogatz
March 8, 2023
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By genetically instructing cells to perform tasks that they wouldn’t in nature, synthetic biologists can learn deep secrets about how life works. Steven Strogatz discusses the potential of this young field with researcher Michael Elowitz.

The Joy of Why

Why Do We Get Old, and Can Aging Be Reversed?

By Steven Strogatz
July 27, 2022
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Everybody gets older, but not everyone ages in the same way. In this episode, Steven Strogatz speaks with Judith Campisi and Dena Dubal, two biomedical researchers who study the aging process.

Sculpted, latticed structure of a grain of olive pollen.
plants

How the ‘Diamond of the Plant World’ Helped Land Plants Evolve

By James Dinneen
July 19, 2022
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Structural studies of the robust material called sporopollenin reveal how it made plants hardy enough to reproduce on dry land.

Illustration of a network of self-replicating RNA molecules evolving and getting more complex.
origins of life

In Test Tubes, RNA Molecules Evolve Into a Tiny Ecosystem

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
May 5, 2022
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When researchers gave a genetic molecule the ability to replicate, it evolved over time into a complex network of “hosts” and “parasites” that both competed and cooperated to survive.

Video microscopy of a large C. elegans roundworm flanked by several much smaller ones.
evolution

In Sexy Worms, Inheritance Beyond Genes Can Help Evolution

By Carrie Arnold
April 19, 2022
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Traits from RNA molecules passed between multiple generations of worms can work with genetic changes to influence future evolution.

Illustration that combines elements of three- and four-leaf clovers with the letter for nucleotides in codons.
synthetic biology

Life With Longer Genetic Codes Seems Possible — but Less Likely

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
April 11, 2022
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Life could use a more expansive genetic code in theory, but new work shows that improving on three-letter codons would be a challenge.

The Joy of Why

Untangling Why Knots Are Important

By Steven Strogatz
April 6, 2022
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Steven Strogatz explores the mysteries of knots with the mathematicians Colin Adams and Lisa Piccirillo.

An artist’s 3D illustration of chromosomes splitting and fusing together.
genomics

Secrets of Early Animal Evolution Revealed by Chromosome ‘Tectonics’

By Viviane Callier
February 2, 2022
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Large blocks of genes conserved through hundreds of millions of years of evolution hint at how the first animal chromosomes came to be.

2021 in Review

The Year in Biology

By John Rennie
December 21, 2021
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The detailed understanding of brains and multicellular bodies reached new heights this year, while the genomes of the COVID-19 virus and various organisms yielded more surprises.


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