All Stories by John Travis
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Molecule sparks origin-of-life debate
The first genetic material may have been a molecule called peptide nucleic acid, or PNA.
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RNA and DNA help cells switch class
Immune cells may tailor their genetic blueprint for antibodies through unusual RNA-DNA structures.
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Viruses that slay bacteria draw new interest
Bacteriophages, viruses that kill bacteria, may be able to cure seafood poisoning, decontaminate poultry, and tackle anthrax.
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Life or Death: Immune genes determine outcome of strep infection
Subtle variations among people's immune genes may largely account for radically different outcomes when people get a strep infection.
- Health & Medicine
Gene change linked to poor memory
A subtle change in a gene encoding a brain chemical may give some people better memory skills than others.
- Health & Medicine
Slow brain repair seen in Huntington’s
In people with Huntington's disease, the brain tries to replace dying nerve cells.
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Scanning a brain that’s out of tune
Scientists have scanned the brain of a man who had great difficulty playing a tune and showed that his brain doesn't react normally to music.
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Mutant mice resist morphine’s appeal
A protein on nerve cells appears to be the key to developing morphine addiction.
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Popularity of germ fighter raises concern
The growing use of the antiseptic triclosan in products ranging from mouthwash to cutting boards and hunting clothes may create bacteria resistant to antibiotic drugs.
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The Brain’s Funny Bone: Seinfeld, The Simpsons spark same nerve circuits
Brain scans of people watching sitcoms show that different brain regions spark with activity when a person initially gets a joke versus when he or she subsequently responds to its humor.
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Sizing Up the Brain
Genetic mutations that produce small brains provide insight into the formation and evolution of the human brain.
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