For convenience, small genomes can't be beat. Sequencing and screening are much easier when you are dealing with an organism that has a small, simple genome. But recent research by investigators at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute suggests that big, complex genomes may be the key to understanding gene regulation.

They discovered this while studying some cousins of Drosophila melanogaster. These flies, members of the Tephritidae family, have a genome five times larger than… Continue

The NIH has announced that lab-made antibodies may be the key in saying goodbye to the flu.

Influenza A viruses are responsible for everything from the average seasonal flu to pandemic flus that kill millions and spark terror in the populace. These include the 1918 Pandemic flu and the avian flu. While vaccines are available that help to protect people against some subtypes of the virus, they cannot protect against all the strains of Influenza A, and each year 250,000 people die from the… Continue

A study published on February 8th 2008 in Nature medicine has shown exciting new developments is the possible treatments for Alzheimer's Disease. Local scientists at the University of California, San Diego, in collaboration with other scientists at UCLA and NYU have shown promising results with a molecule called Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in rats and primates.



BDNF is produced naturally by the brain and the levels of this protein have been shown to be reduced in the… Continue

The first novels I ever read were the Little House on the Prairie series when I was 12. My parents were big readers of the pop thrillers written by Stephen King and John Grisham; by 14 I had devoured all of those too. When I grew up and moved out on my own I ran into some financial trouble with Borders. Now I make two or more trips to the San Diego public library every week. I have always been able to fall into a book and have the world around me melt away and now researchers are beginning to… Continue

Scientists have developed many theories to explain the Triceratops horns. Some believe they were displays to attract mates, like the feathers of a peacock, others claim they were to fend off predators like the tyrannosaurus.

In a Plos one paper published in January 2008, researchers from the University of Wisconsin, The Alf Museum of Paleontology in California and The Royal Tyrell Museum of Paleontology in Canada, provided evidence that the horns were used to settle disagreements… Continue