Jessa Netting

All Stories by Jessa Netting

  1. RNA world gets support as prelife scenario

    Scientists tinkering with a chemical now vital to life think they've recreated one of the central molecules that gave rise to the chemistry of life.

  2. Gray Matters

    Once believed to be a supporting cast, the brain cells called astrocytes appear to play important roles in many brain scenarios.

  3. Bacterial cells reveal skeletal structures

    The finding of a cytoskeleton in Bacillus subtilis bacteria eliminates a fundamental difference between bacteria and higher (eukaryotic) cells.

  4. Gene found for chloroplast movement

    Scientists have found the gene that directs chloroplasts to dance out of a cell's shaded edges to soak up the sun or back into that shade when the light is too intense.

  5. DNA-cutting enzyme looks like scissors

    One type of restriction enzyme not only cuts a DNA strand but also looks like a pair of scissors.

  6. Distressed amoebas can call for help

    Amoebas having trouble dividing produce a chemical signal that draws other amoebas to the scene.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Narcoleptic dogs still have their day

    Evidence from studies with dachshunds and poodles is suggesting that these small breeds may serve as better models than larger dogs, such as Labrador retrievers, for the more genetically complex narcolepsy in people.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Cancer cells have a ticket to ride

    Cancer cells may spread using the same system that immune system cells use to move through the body.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Gene links eyelids and early menopause

    A gene that orchestrates ovary and eyelid development may be the key to early-onset menopause.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Two genes tied to common birth defect

    Researchers report that defects in either of two specific genes may be responsible for DiGeorge syndrome, the second most common cause of congenital heart defects in newborns.

  11. Health & Medicine

    Mice reveal new, severe form of allergy

    Researchers studying an induced condition in mice akin to multiple sclerosis have stumbled across a situation in which mice suffered a severe allergic reaction to injected protein fragments that mimic one their own proteins.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Color array reveals breast cancer types

    A suite of genes lights up when researchers probe for cancer.