Protein microarrays like this allow the investigation of thousands of proteins in a single experiment. Microarrays are only a few centimeters in size and host thousands of individual test spots... Since the completion of the human genome an important goal has been to elucidate the function of the now known proteins: a new molecular method enables the investigation of the function for thousands of proteins in parallel. Applying this new method, an international team of researchers with leading participation of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) was able to identify hundreds of previously unknown interactions among proteins.

In kataegis, multiple mutations cluster in a few hotspots in a cancer genome. Here, cytosine (C) bases are commonly substituted with thymine (T) in the DNA strand. Kataegis is a recently discovered phenomenon in which multiple mutations cluster in a few hotspots in a genome. The anomaly was previously found in some cancers, but it has been unclear what role kataegis plays in tumor development and patient outcomes. Using a database of human tumor genomic data, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center have discovered that kataegis is actually a positive marker in breast cancer -- patients with these mutation hotspots have less invasive tumors and better prognoses.

An international team of scientists from Oxford University, UK, and Tel-Hai College, Israel, has shown that pea plants can demonstrate sensitivity to risk - namely, that they can make adaptive choices that take into account environmental variance, an ability previously unknown outside the animal kingdom.

Oral multikinase inhibitor regorafenib achieves significantly improved survival rates compared to placebo in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, according to data from the phase III RESORCE trial (1), presented at the ESMO 18th World Congress of Gastrointestinal Cancer in Barcelona, Spain.

Flux towers are equipped with inlets for "sniffing the air " above the forest, in addition to other instruments such as sonic anemometers for measuring wind. For the first time, scientists have been successful in measuring the processes by which an entire forest "breathes," using sophisticated technology involving flux towers and new instrumentation that can precisely measure two different types (isotopes) of carbon dioxide in the air. A team led by Richard Wehr and Scott Saleska at the University of Arizona obtained detailed long-term measurements of the respiration and photosynthesis rates of a temperate deciduous forest during the day and the night.

Gene drive technologies may one day help alleviate the burden caused by diseases transmitted by mosquitoes and other animal vectors. The BioScience Talks podcast features discussions of topical issues related to the biological sciences.

Tumor DNA is cluttered with genomic alterations, the vast majority of which have little or no functional or clinical relevance. This means that even when cancer researchers discover an alteration in a tumor or a line of cancer cells, the alteration may or may not be relevant to the progression of the disease - chances are good (and history has shown) that many alterations that are correlated with cancer are not causative of cancer; many alterations are "passengers" rather than "drivers". A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the journal Cancer Research demonstrates a novel method for sorting passenger from driver alterations, and uses this method to pinpoint a new driver and potential therapeutic target in cancer progression, GON4L.

The GWAS results for genes that influence flowering dates. The known genes Hd1, Hd2, and Hd6 were located, together with two newly-identified genes that also affect flowering dates. A Japanese research team have applied a method used in human genetic analysis to rice and rapidly discovered four new genes that are potentially significant for agriculture. These findings could influence crop breeding and help combat food shortages caused by a growing population. The paper was published on June 21, 2016 (Japan Standard Time) in the online edition of Nature Genetics.

Infertility affects about 15 percent of couples around the world. A couple's fertility depends on both the female's and male's ability to reproduce, which relies on thousands of genes working properly. In the male mouse, more than 1,000 genes are predominantly expressed in the testis, but their particular functions in reproduction are still a mystery. In a report published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine, Osaka University, University of Oulu and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have discovered that 54 of the mouse testis-enriched genes, that also are expressed in humans, are not necessary for male fertility.

Physicians have been mystified by chronic fatigue syndrome, a condition where normal exertion leads to debilitating fatigue that isn't alleviated by rest. There are no known triggers, and diagnosis requires lengthy tests administered by an expert.

Red blood cell stages of Plasmodium vivax from malaria patients in Thailand. Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) parasites, which cause a debilitating form of malaria, are yielding their secrets to an international team of researchers funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. In the largest such effort to date, the team determined complete genomes of nearly 200 P. vivax strains that recently infected people in eight countries. Comparative analysis showed the parasites clustered into four genetically distinct populations that provide insights into the movement of P. vivax over time and suggest how it is still adapting to regional variations in both the mosquitoes that transmit it and the humans it infects.

A new study by Simon Fraser University marine ecologists Jessica Schultz, Ryan Cloutier and Isabelle Côté has discovered that a mass mortality of sea stars resulted in a domino effect on B.C.'s West Coast Howe Sound marine ecology.

A molecule that enables strong communication between our brain and muscles appears to also aid essential communication between our neurons, scientists report.

Male and female of the beautiful demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) in the so-called "mating wheel". Traditionally, the evolutionary development of an insect species has been explained by the notion that the female insect chooses her male partner based on size and other factors, so-called assortative mating. These mating patterns have also been believed to partially explain how the isolation between different species is maintained.

The new stem cell-containing bio ink allows 3D printing of living tissue, known as bio-printing.

CRG scientists of the Barcelona Metasub Team at the Global Sampling Day. Barcelona takes part in the international research project Metasub, which aims to map the microbiome of public transit systems in 54 cities worldwide, including New York, Hong Kong, Paris or Sydney.

Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) have performed the first CRISPR/Cas9 screen to discover human proteins that Zika virus needs for replication. This work, led by Abraham Brass, MD, PhD, assistant professor in microbiology & physiological systems, reveals new leads that may be useful for halting Zika, dengue and other emerging viral infections. The study appears online in the journal Cell Reports.

Cold viruses cause us irritation by penetrating into our cells and transporting their RNA into the cytoplasma of the infected cells. This is the only way they can multiply. The details of how the transfer of the RNA from within the virus occurs are difficult to study. However, a new method has been developed at TU Wien that can be used to analyse this process. It was developed from the combination of two established procedures - 'molecular beacons' and capillary electrophoresis in chip format. The new method has now been published and the article's title adorns the cover of the scientific journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.