2,429 results
2,429 results for: mutations
- Humans
Letters from the October 20, 2007, issue of Science News
Well, read Margit L. Bleecker appears to have discovered that those who score highly on reading tests also score highly on tests of memory, attention, and concentration (“How reading may protect the brain,” SN: 8/18/07, p. 110). I don’t find that highly surprising. Ivan MannHoover, Ala. How it happened stance “Alien Pizza, Anyone?” (SN: 8/18/07, […]
- Health & Medicine
X-Ray Kin: Radiation risk is hereditary
Susceptibility to radiation-induced tumors runs in families.
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Aiding and Abetting: A longevity gene also promotes cancer
A gene that normally helps cells overcome stress can also promote cancer, perhaps offering a new target for cancer treatment.
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Feel No Pain, for Real: Mutation appears to underlie rare sensation disorder in a Pakistani family
Scientists have tracked down a genetic mutation that makes some members of an unusual family unable to feel pain.
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Share Alike: Genes from bacteria found in animals
Bacteria swap genes all the time, but it now appears that they can give their DNA to some animals as well.
- Health & Medicine
Drug-Resistant Flu Detected: Japanese strains appear transmissible
For the first time, researchers report drug resistance in type B influenza virus and say the drug-resistant strain may jump from person to person.
- Plants
Cretaceous Corsages? Fossil in amber suggests antiquity of orchids
Orchids appeared on the scene about 80 million years ago, according to evidence from a bee that collected orchid pollen and got trapped in amber.
- Health & Medicine
Cancer Link: Gene regulates progesterone effect on breast cells
The BRCA1 protein regulates the effect of pro-growth progesterone, which could explain why having a mutated BRCA1 gene predisposes a woman to breast cancer.
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Mutation blocks fat absorption
A newly discovered gene in zebrafish seems to prevent the animals from absorbing fat molecules from their diets.
- Health & Medicine
Taking a Jab at Cancer
Vaccines that train a person's immune system to kill cancerous cells, when combined with drugs that block tumor defense mechanisms, are starting to show promise.
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Weighting for Friends: Obesity spreads in social networks
Obesity spreads as a social contagion through networks of friends and relatives, apparently because associating with overweight people encourages a laxer attitude toward weight gain.
- Chemistry
Energy in Motion
The molecular machines of living cells harvest energy out of randomness, and scientists are learning how to do the same with artificial molecules.
