Jun 2019
Newly discovered mechanisms that drive metastasis could be thwarted by existing drugs
Antioxidants may encourage the spread of lung cancer rather than prevent it
Jan 2024
1.78-billion-year-old microfossils reveal sunlight-harnessing structures that give off oxygen
Bacteria fossils hold the oldest signs of machinery needed for photosynthesis
Sep 2023
Immune cells in the skull may sense and influence brain inflammation
Bone marrow in the skull could be used to monitor Alzheimer's, MS and more
Sep 2023
The relationship between size and number also shows up in everything from ecosystems to language
A catalog of all human cells reveals a mathematical pattern
Oct 2019
Manipulating this molecular switch is being explored for cancer treatment
Discovery of how cells sense oxygen wins the 2019 medicine Nobel
Oct 2020
The ‘molecular scissors’ were developed just eight years ago
Gene-editing tool CRISPR wins the chemistry Nobel
Aug 2022
Microscopic particles in teardrops offer intel on what’s going on in the body
A new technology uses human teardrops to spot disease
Mar 2017
Colorectal cancer (also termed colon or bowel cancer) is the third most prevalent type of cancer both in men and in women, taking the lives of approximately 400,000 people annually worldwide (including 50,000 people per year in the United States). It results when tumors form in the lining of the large intestine's colon or rectum. Since the year 2000, the number of cases and mortality rates of patients having colorectal cancer have risen dramatically among young and middle-aged adults in the United States. Specifically, in adults younger than age 50, the incidence rate of colorectal cancer has increased by 22%, with an accompanying 13% increase in the death rate from this condition. These statistics are surprising because the rates among persons more than 50 years of age have been dropping, predominantly because of their adoption of healthier lifestyle habits (such as smoking less and eating less red meat) and improvements in medical screening and treatment protocols. Thus, the rise of colorectal cancer in the younger population is a troubling shift. See also: Cancer; Colon; Digestive system; Gastrointestinal tract disorders; Intestine; Oncology; Tumor
Colorectal cancer increasing in young adults
Jan 2015
Diauxic growth is the diphasic (two-phase) growth response seen in a culture of microorganisms making a phenotypic adaptation to the addition of a second substrate. This phenomenon was discovered and named diauxie in the early 1940s by the French biochemist Jacques Monod and is characterized by a growth phase followed by a lag, after which growth is resumed. See also: Bacterial growth; Culture
Diauxic growth (diauxie)
Apr 2018
CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing is a modern technique that targets specific stretches of genetic code and allows editing of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) at designated locations. It has been at the forefront of genetic research, providing scientists with the ability to undertake various genome-engineering projects, including opportunities for the modification of genes and the potential correction of mutations to prevent genetic diseases. However, the CRISPR (which stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) genomic tool is limited by its precision. Specifically, the limiting factor is the DNA-cutting enzyme. The most commonly used enzyme is known as Cas9, but it only attaches to and targets a particular three-base sequence in the DNA that occurs in one-sixteenth of the human genome. This hampers the ability of researchers to carry out many applications that would entail editing of sequential segments of the DNA that occur more often. See also: CRISPR-based immunity in prokaryotes; CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing; CRISPR genome-editing methods against superbugs; Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA); Enzyme; Gene; Genetic code; Genetic engineering; Genetics; Mutation
Expanded range for CRISPR gene editing