CRISPR is a powerful DNA-editing tool that has underpinned huge advancements in human health care in the last decade. It is a precision tool, but is not perfect, and misplaced DNA edits can compromise safety and efficacy, costing billions each…
Category: 5. Biology
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DNA shape explains crucial gene-therapy challenges
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The Mystery of the Legless Lizards of Taiwan
Slithering through the damp leaf litter, deep in the forests of Taiwan is an elusive creature that’s been causing confusion for decades—the Formosan legless lizard. Now, researchers are trying to set the record straight with a bit of
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Beavers bring biodiversity to wetlands, study shows
Beavers should be embraced as key allies in the fight against biodiversity loss according to scientists at the University of Stirling, after new research revealed the significant ecological benefits the animals bring to wetland habitats. Beaver…
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Tiny rotating hairs inside a microscopic cavity decide where your organs will grow
Heart to the left. Liver to the right. That’s where you’ll find these organs in a healthy human body, but surprisingly, in some people, the heart is on the right and the liver on the left. This normal or abnormal asymmetry can be traced back to…
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Succulents as role models: How they balance photosynthesis and water loss so efficiently
A research team led by the University of Bern has decoded a mechanism by which an inconspicuous succulent regulates the uptake of carbon dioxide via the leaf surface so finely that it receives enough for photosynthesis without losing too much…
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Giant armadillo, mastodon, and sloth fossils found in flooded Texas cave
The groundwater flowing through the subterranean cave systems of central…
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Baby sperm whale birth captured in groundbreaking video
Luck filled the air on a warm July day off the coast of Dominica in the…
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New study maps global immune gene diversity across multiple populations
Inherited variations in antibody genes can affect how we respond to infections and vaccines, show two new studies from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, published in the journal Immunity. The researchers have mapped immune gene…
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Sperm loses its sense of direction in space
Some of the world’s wealthiest and most influential people remain deadset…
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Sperm Get Lost in Space and Scientists Finally Know Why
Having a baby in space may be far more complicated than expected, as new research shows sperm struggle to find their way in microgravity. Starting a family beyond Earth could be more complicated than expected. New research from Adelaide…
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