New tool reveals gene behavior in bacteria

Bacterial infections cause millions of deaths each year, with the global threat made worse by the increasing resistance of the microbes to antibiotic treatments. This is due in part to the ability of bacteria to switch genes ...

Researchers reveal universal mechanisms of DNA and RNA deformations

DNA and RNA, the two main types of nucleic acid and the building blocks of life, are susceptible to environmental stimuli, which can cause them to deform, bend or twist. These deformations can significantly affect gene regulation ...

Studying epigenetic regulation at the single-molecule level

If one imagines the genome as an instruction manual for the functioning of a cell, every page of this manual is covered with annotations, highlights, and bookmarks. The role of some of these marks remains mysterious—do ...

New evolutionary insights from stepping outside the lab

Most of his career, Justin Crocker, EMBL Heidelberg Group Leader, has been working at the interface of development and evolution. In two new studies led by Crocker, scientists have shown how using non-standard laboratory ...

Finding genes to help fruit adapt to droughts

As climate change is expected to lead to more frequent periods of drought, researchers are increasingly working to make discoveries that can help plants adapt to prolonged water stress.

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