Interesting biology related articles :

- Fungus boasts a surprising number of identities
- Virtual creatures to evolve inside idling PCs
- Sigma-Aldrich introduces gene knockout system
- India special: Embracing GM crops

My main computer's power supply died this week; I've been stuck with the laptop to post news but things will (hopefully) get fixed this week. Fortunately, my female guppy had a present for me yesterday : tiny guppy babies! Happiness in a very small package!

As a side note, I've cleaned the website code; result, we are now XHTML 1.0 Transitional compliant. I've also minimized the quantity of ads. What's left? Tons of Biology news, of course :) Feedback is always appreciated, either in comments or in the forum (reminder : registration in the forum is optional, you can post as 'guest', which is not the case for comments, due to spam). I'm also looking for more syndicated biology news press releases and content sources.

At just 9.8 kilobases, the HIV genome pales in comparison to the 3.2 gigabases of its human and nonhuman primate targets. The compact retrovirus encodes just 14 proteins, which play different roles in promoting viral infection and virulence. As a retrovirus, HIV uses the host’s cellular machinery—including RNA polymerases, which carry out transcription—to copy its RNA genome into DNA and infiltrate human chromosomal DNA. Once the virus is integrated (now called a provirus), its genes can be transcribed.

An expanded clinical trial conducted by Optobionics Corporation involving the implantation of a retina mircrochip has allowed Emory Eye Center and the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research & Development Center to implant the device in several patients. The patients all have retinitis pigmentosa with moderate-to-severe vision loss. Three centers in the United States have been chosen to conduct the expanded trial. Other than Emory and the VA Rehabilitation R&D Center they include Rush University Medical Center's Department of Ophthalmology and the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins Medical Center.

Using genetics, Navy sonar, deep-sea submersibles, and toxicology, scientists are peering into the lives of whales – past and present – in ways never before possible. At a 3:00 PM press conference on February 19th at the annual meeting of AAAS, Steve Palumbi of Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station, Christopher W. Clark of Cornell University, Craig Smith of the University of Hawaii and Roger Payne of the Ocean Alliance will share their latest discoveries emerging from these high tech ventures, using DNA sequences, deep-sea video and sound-clips.