Christen Brownlee

All Stories by Christen Brownlee

  1. Health & Medicine

    Marijuana ingredient slows artery hardening

    Low doses of the chemical that causes marijuana's high can slow the progression of atherosclerosis.

  2. Losing Sleep: Mutant flies need less shut-eye

    The ability to get by on little sleep may have a strong genetic component, according to a new study in fruit flies.

  3. Frozen in Time: Gas puts mice metabolically on ice

    Researchers have induced a hibernation-like state in mice by exposing them to low concentrations of hydrogen sulfide.

  4. Remote Control Minds: Light flashes direct fruit fly behavior

    Researchers have exerted a little mind control over fruit flies by designing and installing genetic 'remote controls' within the insects' brains.

  5. Phages take breaks while ejecting DNA

    Bacterial viruses, or phages, inject DNA into their prey in a way that is more complicated than researchers had previously thought.

  6. Plants fix genes using copies from ancestors

    Some plants can reinstate genes missing from their own chromosomes but that had been carried by previous generations.

  7. Code of Many Colors

    Researchers have yet to find markers for race in the genome, but understanding the biology underlying perceptions of race could have dramatic social and personal consequences.

  8. Follicle Size Matters: Hormone regimen may reduce pregnancy success

    Hormone injections used to induce livestock and women to ovulate could force eggs to leave ovarian follicles before they are fully mature and thereby jeopardize pregnancy outcomes.

  9. Full Stem Ahead

    Before stem cells can fulfill the promise of treating deadly diseases, problems with the cells' biology and government regulations limiting their use must be solved.

  10. Tug-of-War: How bacteria prevent host-cell suicide

    New research suggests that bacteria may keep the cells they infect alive longer by tugging on the cells' membranes.

  11. Sugar Coated: Molecular dress-up may disguise gut bacteria

    The mammalian immune system doesn't attack native gut bacteria as foreign invaders because the bacteria disguise themselves with sugar molecules.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Anoint Them with Oil: Cheap-and-easy treatment cuts infection rates in premature infants

    Massaging premature babies with sunflower-seed oil can cut bloodborne infection rates.