Eukaryotes News and Research

RSS

Researchers challenge a popular scenario put forward to explain the arrival of the first eukaryotic organisms

In the beginning, there was boredom. Following the emergence of cellular life on earth, some 3.5 billion years ago, simple cells lacking a nucleus and other detailed internal structure dominated the planet. Matters would remain largely unchanged in terms of evolutionary development in these so-called prokaryotic cells-;the bacteria and archaea-;for another billion and a half years.

8 Aug 2022

Researchers delve deeper into the structure of protein receptor crucial for cardiovascular health

5 Aug 2022

Using CRISPR to Lift the Lid on Probiotics

In this interview, we speak to Echo Pan, a Ph.D. student from North Carolina State University about her latest research that used CRISPR to uncover more on probiotics.

26 Jul 2022

Study opens a door to better understanding the role of viruses in ecology

The first discovery of viruses infecting a group of microbes that may include the ancestors of all complex life has been found, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin report in Nature Microbiology.

27 Jun 2022

Study offers recommendations for improving statistical inference in population genomics

The second century Alexandrian astronomer and mathematician Claudius Ptolemy had a grand ambition. Hoping to make sense of the motion of stars and the paths of planets, he published a magisterial treatise on the subject, known as the Almagest.

6 Jun 2022

Origin, evolution and ecological relationships of yeasts

Yeasts have been evolving and diversifying for more than 400 million years. Likely, symbiotic relationships between humans and yeasts started already at the origin of our species (200-300 thousand years ago).

17 May 2022

Researchers design and engineer artificial photosynthetic life-forms through endosymbiosis

Every plant, animal or other nucleus-containing cell also harbors an array of miniature "organs" that perform essential functions for the cell. In plants, for example, organelles called chloroplasts photosynthesize to generate energy for the organism.

3 May 2022

Unraveling how strigoractone hormone regulates massive gene networks controlling plant growth

As sessile organisms, plants have to continually adapt their growth and architecture to the ever-changing environment. To do so, plants have evolved distinct molecular mechanisms to sense and respond to the environment and integrate the signals from outside with endogenous developmental programs.

28 Apr 2022

Eukaryotes emerged in a no-oxygen environment in the ocean, research suggests

The origin of complex cells started without oxygen, new research suggests.

27 Apr 2022

CRISPR-based detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA directly from patient swabs

Researchers developed a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-based diagnostic technique for detecting SARS-CoV-2 RNA.

21 Apr 2022

Study explores microbial genetic engineering approach as a replacement for shark livering for squalene

A new study examined possible genetic engineering approaches that could be utilized to tailor the metabolic processes of yeasts, bacteria, and thraustochytrids to optimize the synthesis of squalene.

21 Apr 2022

RNA capping mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 unveiled

In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv* preprint server, researchers elucidated the mechanism of ribonucleic acid (RNA) capping in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2).

14 Feb 2022

New method may be effective at quantifying DNA adenine methylation in complex organisms

For decades, a small group of cutting-edge medical researchers have been studying a biochemical, DNA tagging system, which switches genes on or off. Many have studied it in bacteria and now some have seen signs of it in, plants, flies, and even human brain tumors.

3 Feb 2022

Study offers unprecedented insight into the mechanism of action of topo VI enzyme

The function of an enzyme, critical to most forms of life, has been revealed.

2 Feb 2022

Prion-like domains in SARS-CoV-2 RBD and ACE2 play important functional roles in viral adhesion and entry

Scientists have recently detected and analyzed viral PrDs in the S protein of SARS-CoV-2, which are the novel regulators of virion assembly.

31 Jan 2022

Earth BioGenome Project moves from pilot projects to full-scale sequencing

A global effort to map the genomes of all plants, animals, fungi and other microbial life on Earth, is entering a new phase as it moves from pilot projects to full-scale production sequencing.

18 Jan 2022

Horizontal gene transfer between viruses and hosts plays a major role in driving evolution

The first comprehensive analysis of viral horizontal gene transfer (HGT) illustrates the extent to which viruses pick up genes from their hosts to hone their infection process, while at the same time hosts also co-opt useful viral genes.

5 Jan 2022

Genetically engineered bacteria can monitor health from within

That feeling in your gut? Well, it's in your head, but some of it does truly start in the gastrointestinal tract.

12 Nov 2021

New computer program can read any genome sequence and decipher its genetic code

Yekaterina "Kate" Shulgina was a first year student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, looking for a short computational biology project so she could check the requirement off her program in systems biology. She wondered how genetic code, once thought to be universal, could evolve and change.

9 Nov 2021

New method to study the nuclear pore complex directly inside cells

Context matters. It's true for many facets of life, including the tiny molecular machines that perform vital functions inside our cells.

18 Oct 2021