DOLPHINS SHOW SOME CULTURE
See a dolphin swimming through the water and you’re not just looking at a sleek and playful marine creature, you’re also seeing an animal with culture. Indeed, dolphin culture has recently been spotted...
View ArticleA MONK’S FLOURISHING GARDEN: THE BASICS OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EXPLAINED
(August, 2003) The first inklings of genetic theory can be traced back to a common human experience: the recognition that a child has features similar to those of its parents. This ancient observation...
View ArticleWEALTH AS A CANCER RISK
Wealth can bring a lot of things to a family and new research is suggesting such things are not always good. One of these is childhood leukemia. Although rare overall, leukemia is one of the most...
View ArticleSHORTSTOP PROVIDES HUNTINGTON’S CLUES
A debate is going on in Huntington’s research about whether the hallmark protein aggregates found in the brain of patients actually cause the disease. Now, a new “shortstop” may have found part of the...
View ArticleA BRAKE ON THE EVER EXPANDING GENOME
Want to expand a genome? Previous thinking suggests you only need some transposable elements, often nicknamed “jumping genes”, to repeatedly, and irreversibly, insert into the genome. Time will take...
View ArticleCELL SURFACE RECEPTORS: A BIOLOGICAL CONDUIT FOR INFORMATION TRANSFER
The behavior of a cell often relies on the chemical signals it is exposed to in its environment. In general, two types of chemical signals can be found floating through the cellular environment:...
View ArticleCONVERSING AT THE CELLULAR LEVEL: AN INTRODUCTION TO SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION
(August 2003) Conversation in the biological world is quite natural. Even on the level of the cell, a busy broadcast of communications is occurring; a fact which has caught the attention of biologists....
View ArticlePROTEIN PHOSPHORYLATION: A GLOBAL REGULATOR OF CELLULAR ACTIVITY
(August 2003) As early as the 19th century it was known that phosphates could be bound to proteins. Most examples of these ‘phosphoproteins’ were found in milk (caseins) and egg yolk (phosvitin) and...
View ArticleG PROTEINS: MOLECULAR SWITCHES FOR SENSING THE ENVIRONMENT
(August 2003) Cells show an astounding awareness of the environments in which they find themselves, actually adapting their behavior to changing surroundings. The key to this ability is a constant...
View ArticleFREQUENTER LIST 2006: DAVID SECKO
– PART I: A HAIKU – DNA wind chimes what songs would they play all day– four notes bellow ‘sex!’ – PART II: TEN LINKS – 1. Nature’s Peer Review Debate (link) 2. Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science (link) 3....
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