News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
Scientists have developed a quick genetic test that can diagnose a large range of rare muscle and nerve diseases with near perfect accuracy. Tandem repeat disorders are a family of over 50 inherited diseases, including Huntington’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), that seem to occur when short DNA sequences are repeated too many times. … Read more
People typically think of food as calories, energy, and sustenance. However, the latest evidence suggests that food also “talks” to our genome, which is the genetic blueprint that directs the way the body functions down to the cellular level. This communication between food and genes may affect your health, physiology, and longevity. The idea … Read more
In June 2000, two rival groups of researchers shook hands in the shared success of a milestone in biology – the delivery of a rough draft of the human genome. What started with an incomplete map of our chromosomes has since bloomed into a vast trove of individualized sequences from all corners of the globe, … Read more
The sudden and unexpected death of a child is a tragedy made all the worse when there’s absolutely no explanation. Each year in the United States, hundreds of children die for undetermined reasons, usually in their sleep or while resting. Due to the way deaths are investigated and certified, it’s hard to say how often this … Read more
As we battle against our own pandemic, sea stars are being killed in the millions by a horrible condition that melts them into a sickly goo. Sadly, there’s no straightforward way to help these animals, such as protecting them with a vaccine, so conservation biologists have been desperately trying to find another way. In … Read more
Humans’ sense of smell may indeed be gradually fading, according to a study that has found people carry different versions of two scent receptors for musk and body odor. Olfactory receptors detect airborne chemicals that waft into our noses, but smell receptors vary immensely from one person to the next. Any two people, on … Read more
Do you love spending time in nature? Or are you a city slicker, happier in the concrete jungle than the great outdoors? Back in 1986, the US biologist EO Wilson proposed that humans have an innate connection with the natural world, an idea known as biophilia. Almost every aspect of our lives depends on … Read more
For centuries, farmers have bred livestock and crops for desirable traits such as faster growth, better taste, and resistance to disease. Now, a new kind of rancher is following in their footsteps: mealworm breeders. Last week, France-based Ÿnsect announced it will spend nearly $5 million on the world’s first large-scale initiative to use state-of-the-art genetics … Read more
A newfound variant of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has been uncovered in the Netherlands and appears to cause faster disease progression compared with other versions of the virus. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infects and destroys immune cells called CD4 cells in the body, causing the number of these cells to plummet. … Read more
The venerable elders of a forest are hugely important to the diversity, fitness, and survival of the woodland as a whole, new research shows – and they bring with them a hardiness and experience in dealing with change, as well as a lifetime of ecological interactions preserved in their immediate surrounds.. Scientists used models … Read more