Phage Therapy: Synthetic Biology Goes ViralAugust 12, 2015Viruses have long been maligned as worthless, pseudo-alive parasites, but treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections may be about to go viral. No, we don’t mean cats taking medicine on video (although…). No, this is phage therapy. Phages are viruses that infect bacteria, and research into using them to treat bacterial infections goes back decades, especially in […]
Epigenetics Drives Genetics Straight Into EvolutionAugust 9, 2015In today’s fast-paced world, quickly adapting to your environment is a game-changer. But genetic determinism cannot fully explain the rapid adaption seen in many species, which has left evolution in a dark age. That is until the enlightening work of Michael Skinner’s laboratory at Washington State University. Their observations on transgenerational epigenetic inheritance have been […]
Hacking the Microbiome: Bacteria Advance Therapeutics and DiagnosticsAugust 5, 2015Commensal bacteria have long had branding issues. First there was an awareness problem – “Wait, these things are inside us?” Then there was an image problem – “Germs! Bad! Kill!” They even had a Pluto moment, when it turned out a whole bunch of them weren’t even bacteria at all. Despite these difficulties, the word […]
Lights Out! Sleep Loss Affects DNA Methylation of Circadian GenesAugust 4, 2015 ‘La nuit blanche’. No, it is not a delicious pastry. It’s the French expression for staying up all night and not going to bed until the next evening, which in most cases will leave you pretty irritable. But losing one night’s sleep may affect more than just your mood; a new study by Swedish […]
Wanted: Serially-Offending Epigenetic Enzymes Implicated In CancerAugust 4, 2015Epigenetic enzymes are among the prime suspects in the identity parade of genes responsible for the deregulation of the genome in cancer. But are the same epigenetic enzymes always found at the scene of the crime? A new analysis from a team of international researchers led by Andrew Teschendorff identifies three epigenetic enzymes that can […]