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Does New DNA Always Mean New Traits?...

Does New DNA Always Mean New Traits?
I was teaching a class of fifth grade students last week and we were discussing the characteristics of DNA and cells. As a group, we described how the human body is made up of a variety of cell types, including muscle cells, nerve cells, and more. I explained that although cells can be diverse in their appearance and functions, within one organism they all have the same DNA (except for mature red...

What’s in a Weed?...

What’s in a Weed?
If you’re a geneticist, it’s likely that your experiments are not on humans, even if you’re studying human diseases.  This is a concept we spend a great deal of time discussing with the 5th-8th graders who visit the DNA Learning Center.  It’s hard for a youngster, and many adults for that matter, to understand how a worm or a bug might have anything in common with a human, nonetheless anything...

Diverse Proteins...

Diverse Proteins
The instructions for life are carried in the DNA of our cells. All day long, our cells read the information in our DNA and make proteins. While DNA contains recipes for how life works, proteins are molecules that I consider the “doers” in our cells. Protein is a broad category that includes enzymes and hormones. When you eat an apple, your body produces enzymes to break down that apple...

Ribosome Discoveries Recognized in 2009 ...

Ribosome Discoveries Recognized in 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be shared between Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas A. Steitz and Ada E. Yonath for discovering how ribosomes function at the atomic level. Ribosomes are molecular machines composed of RNA and protein that perform the critical function of translating messenger RNA (mRNA) into protein. In other words, they transform the genetic code from a static list of instructions...

2009 Nobel Prize in Physics goes to Kao,...

2009 Nobel Prize in Physics goes to Kao, Smith and Boyle
Telecommunications were the subject of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics. This year’s award will be split between two discoveries that have had a broad impact on contemporary life – fiber optics and charge-coupled device (CCD) technology. Charles Kuen Kao will receive half the Prize for laying the foundations of the modern fiber optic industry. In 1966, he calculated how to transmit light signals...