Apes

The Shapes Of Life: NIGMS Project Yields More Than 1,000 Protein Structures

The Protein Structure Initiative (PSI), a national program aimed at determining the three-dimensional shapes of a wide range of proteins, has now determined more than 1,000 different structures. These structures will shed light on how proteins function in many life processes and could lead to targets for the development of new medicines. The PSI is a 10-year, approximately $600 million pr...

Divergent life history shapes gene expression in brains of salmon

Scientists working with salmon have found that gene expression in the brain can differ significantly among members of a species with different life histories. Their study indicates that roughly 15 percent of Atlantic salmon genes show differential expression in males who migrate from their freshwater birthplaces to mature in oceans versus those who do not leave the freshwater environment to matur...

Vineyard weeds found to host Pierce's disease of grapes

New research just released in the September issue of Plant Disease suggests that weeds commonly found in California's wine country may enable the spread of Pierce's disease of grapes, one of the most destructive plant diseases affecting grapes. Pierce's disease is caused by Xylella fastidiosa, a bacterium transmitted by sharpshooters and spittlebugs. In response to outbreaks of Pierce's di...

Pleasing plant shapes explained by new computer model

Flowers are innately beautiful to the human eye, but how does a sunflower achieve its stunning disc of intersecting spirals or a daisy its delicate symmetry? That was the question tackled by University of Calgary computer scientists, who have answered one of biology's enduring questions with an animated model that provides the most detailed simulation of how plants grow into recognizable s...

Gene linked with mental illness shapes brain region, researchers find

A gene variant associated with mental illness goes hand-in-hand with enlargement of a brain region that handles negative emotions, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center and the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System have found. "This might indicate that...

How sneaky HIV escapes cells

“It appears that cells make...