Researchers from Yale University and Mirna Therapeutics, Inc., reversed the growth of lung tumors in mice using a naturally occurring tumor suppressor microRNA. The study reveals that a tiny bit of RNA may one day play a big role in cancer treatment, and provides hope for future patients battling one of the most prevalent and difficult to treat cancers.

The Wildlife Conservation Society today released a list of animals facing new impacts by climate change, some in strange and unexpected ways.

An ultra-high-resolution imaging technique using X-ray diffraction is a step closer to fulfilling its promise as a window on nanometer-scale structures in biological samples. In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers report progress in applying an approach to "lensless" X-ray microscopy that they introduced one year ago. They have produced the first images, using this technique, of biological cells – specifically the intriguing polyextremophile Deinococcus radiourans. Better ability to see nanoscale structures in cells could yield important insights for evolutionary biology and biotechnology. In the case of D. radiourans, for example, it could help to settle questions about whether – or how – the structure of this organism's DNA-bearing nucleoid region accounts for its hardiness against ionizing radiation. Having demonstrated the resolution, reliability, and reproducibility of their technique, the researchers are now working to extend it to three-dimensional imaging of biological cells.

An Arizona State University research team has developed a process that removes a key obstacle to producing lower-cost, renewable biofuels. The team has programmed a photosynthetic microbe to self-destruct, making the recovery of high-energy fats--and their biofuel byproducts--easier and potentially less costly.