Seeds have recycled a plant protection mechanism, the cuticle, to withstand terrestrial aggressions. The team of Luis Lopez-Molina discovered that the cuticle increases seeds’ viability, their resistance to reactive oxygen species, and contributes to maintaining their dormant state. The results were published on December 17, 2015 in PLoS Genetics.
News / Bio.news
Where is the Engram?
The outreach open platform TheScienceBreaker has published a Break written by Nobel Prize laureate Susumu Tonegawa and his collaborator Tomás Ryan.
La photosynthèse
La photosynthèse permet à une plante de produire de l’oxygène. Mais comment cela se passe-t-il concrètement? Et puis, à quoi sert l’oxygène? Autant de questions auxquelles répond le Bioscope dans ODK.
La digestion
Le Bioscope révèle comment les aliments sont transformés en énergie et comment fonctionne la digestion, dans ODK.
The corn snake genome sequenced for the first time
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The team of Michel Milinkovitch has produced a large database including the newly-sequenced genome of the corn snake, a species increasingly used to understand the evolution of reptiles. The researchers have also discovered the mutation that causes albinism in that species, a result published on November 24, 2015 in Scientific Reports.
Hydra can modify its genetic program
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The group of Brigitte Galliot discovered that the freshwater polyp remains alive in the absence of neurogenesis thanks to their epithelial cells. The latter overexpress a series of genes, among which some are involved in diverse nervous functions. The results were published on November 23, 2015 in the journal of the Royal Society.
Five years of AcademiaNet
Brigitte Galliot is a member of AcademiaNet, which has grown to become the first port of call for decision-makers looking to find suitable women for scientific leadership roles and governing bodies.
Chancellor Angela Merkel celebrated the fifth anniversary of the portal.
Find out more about AcademiaNet watching the second video on that page.
Why some genes are highly expressed
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David Shore’s team discovered that all promoters could be classified into two distinct types differing by their state of nucleosome stability. One type, characterized by the presence of dynamic nucleosomes, is found at highly expressed genes, such as those involved in the control of cell growth and division. The results are described in the November 5th 2015 edition of Molecular Cell.
Comment les lucioles produisent-elles de la lumière?
Marie-Charlotte, du laboratoire Bioscope, éclaire la lanterne de Chris, le présentateur de l’émission ODK.
Staphylococcus aureus Achilles’ heel
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One of the bacterium’s most impressive weapons is α-toxin. Sandra Citi’s group has collaborated to a study which identified the components of our cells that modulate the virulence of this toxin, in particular the PLEKHA7 protein. The results are published in the journal PNAS.