mutations

Among the predatory ants known as clonal raiders, worker ants called scouts track down the nests of other ant species, then recruit more workers to help steal that species’ young to be meals for their own colony (first video, below). But in at least one colony, those other workers have sprouted wings like queen ants and don’t budge from the comforts of their nest (second video, below). That’s because a genetic mutation has turned them into parasitic slackers that…

Some researchers worry the drug may create more contagious or health-threatening variations of Covid, which has killed more than 6.8 million people globally over the past three years. Mutations linked to the use of Merck’s pill, Lagevrio, have been identified in viral samples taken from dozens of patients, according to a preprint study from researchers in the US and at the Francis Crick Institute, Imperial College London and other UK institutions.…

Researchers at UC San Diego studied the UV light-emitting devices used to cure gel manicures, and found that the chronic use of these nail polish drying machines is damaging to human cells. Credit: David Baillot/ UC San Diego Jacobs School of EngineeringThe ultraviolet nail polish drying devices used to cure gel manicures may pose more of a public health concern than previously thought. Researchers at the University of California San Diego studied these ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting devices, and found that their use…

Since arriving on the market around 2010, gel manicures have become a staple in nail salons across the US and many parts of the world, and it’s easy to see why. Compared to traditional nail polish, gel variants are more resilient to damage and smudging, and they retain their shine until you remove the polish from your fingernails. Best of all, if you’re the impatient sort, you don’t need to wait an hour or more for a gel manicure to dry. Those benefits all come courtesy of the way the polish cures. Instead of waiting for…

Illustration of a new class of protein misfolding called a non-covalent lasso entanglement that can result from changes to the rate of protein synthesis caused by synonymous mutations. Bottom: structure of a protein showing its native state and misfolded state with non-covalent lasso entanglement. Credit: Yang Jiang, Penn StateModeling shows how genetic changes that don’t lead to changes in protein sequence can still alter protein function.New modeling shows how synonymous mutations — those that change the <span…

Researchers have identified the specific mutations in the monkeypox virus that contribute to its continued infectiousness.Scientists show how monkeypox mutations cause the virus to replicate and spread faster.Already the 2022 Monkeypox outbreak has infected more than 28,000 people in the U.S. and more than 78,000 globally in more than 100 countries worldwide. Similar to <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div…

A new study has shown that astronauts’ blood does experience DNA mutations due to spaceflight. The study, published in Communications Biology in August, looked at the blood taken from 14 astronauts in NASA’s space shuttle program. The researchers noted several DNA mutations in blood-forming stem cells compared to blood taken previously, which could cause concern down the line. Astronauts may be at higher risk of DNA mutations Image source: GorodenkoffThe mutations, the researchers say, are worrying but…

The researchers believe that they can exploit this new physics law and find the probability of mutations before they take place.A University of Portsmouth research team has found a potential way to predict genetic mutations before they occur.According to a University of Portsmouth study, a new physics law could allow for the early prediction of genetic mutations.The study discovers that the second law of information dynamics, or “infodynamics,” behaves differently from the second law of thermodynamics. This finding might…

Synonymous mutations have long been thought to have relatively no impact.A new study finds that most “silent” mutations are harmful rather than neutral.Marshall Nirenberg, a University of Michigan alumni, and a small group of researchers cracked the genetic code of life in the early 1960s, figuring out the rule by which information stored in <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>DNA</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>DNA,…

An MIT-led team has built a new system that rapidly scans the genome of cancer cells and could help researchers find targets for new drugs. Credit: Dylan Burnette and Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, National Institutes of Health, edited by MIT NewsThe system rapidly scans the genome of cancer cells and could help scientists find targets for new drugs.Cancer cells can have thousands of <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div…