Depression may speed up DNA ageing
Severe depression speeds up the ageing process of our cells, researchers have found...
BioNews
Mitosis
The ordinary form of cell division, in which a cell divides to produce two new cells that both have the same number of chromosomes as the original cell.
19 articles
Faulty gene leading to skin disorder spotted
Scientists have identified a gene involved in an incurable skin disease. Using advanced screening techniques they discovered several mutations in this gene in people with punctuate palmoplantar keratoderma (PPK)...
An eggsample of why it is hard to prove a negative
Earlier this year, a paper claimed to have found cells, called ovarian stem cells, in the adult ovaries of both mice and humans. These cells could apparently be grown in large numbers in the lab and could retain the ability to give rise to eggs. A new study finds no evidence for the existence of germline progenitors able to produce eggs in postnatal ovaries. Is a lack of evidence sufficient to win the argument?...
Aggressive brain cancer linked to gene fusion
Some cases of glioblastoma - a particularly aggressive form of brain cancer - may be due a genetic mutation where two separate genes fuse into one, scientists report...
By accident, scientists discover how commonest DNA replication error is corrected
Scientists have discovered the enzyme in our cells which corrects the most frequently occurring mistake in DNA as cells divide...
Common cancer gene may change chromosome numbers
Two US studies published this week have shed light on how a gene mutation can change the number of chromosomes present in the cells of more than 90 percent of cancers...
Skin disease has inbuilt genetic 'cure'
Scientists have identified genetic changes responsible for the rare skin condition, ichthyosis with confetti (IWC). They also discovered that skin cells from patients with IWC can eliminate the genetic mutation that causes the disease...
Cell division genes published
The results of a huge multinational project to pinpoint all the genes and related proteins essential for cell division are to be made publically available for other researchers to use...
Defining the human embryo: A way with words?
In February this year, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (1) published a discussion paper entitled: 'Human Embryo - A biological definition'. This publication provides an authoritative and comprehensive summary of the scientific arguments and experiments that bear on our understanding of what a human embryo is and is...