Progress continues on the Synthetic Yeast Project, an international scientific initiative that aims to build a yeast genome out of completely synthetic chromosomes. The latest update involves seven papers published together in the journal Science detailing the five pre-designed chromosomes that have been successfully swapped into the genome of yeast. The model organism S. cerevisiae […]
We’ve discussed symbiotic relationships before, from the endosymbiosis that bacteria have with plants and fungi to the mutualistic relationships between plants and fungi directly. But those occasional dalliances are nowhere on the scale of what happens with orchids in the family Orchidaceae. The Deadly Life of Orchids Practically all orchids currently known, 28,000 and counting, […]
The Human Genome Project, a proposal to sequence the entirety of the human genome and all of its nucleotides, was completed in April of 2003. While there are still scientific debates on whether it properly completed all of the genome, there remains another part of the project that one can say for certain is not […]
A popular and pressing issue currently in agriculture is the issue of bees and their fate in a modernizing world. Both for domesticated honey bees, who appear to be suffering from a combination of negative effects with a main combatant being the Varroa destructor mite slowly wearing down hives and destroying them, and wild bees, […]
Antibiotic resistance continues to be a growing problem in medicine. While overuse of antibiotics plays its role, the general fact of population and usage over time lends itself to the same outcome. Some resistance can be mitigated by use of multi-drug systems that make it mathematically impossible for any one bacteria to become resistant to […]
Is it ethical to conduct genetic modifications on humans? It’s one thing to discuss such modifications to be done on adults that are requesting it, but what about with infants or fetuses? That’s where the conversation becomes much more complicated. The Other Concerns Most people would likely agree that modification of defective genes that would […]
Temperature, rainfall, soil stability, and many other factors contribute to plant growth (and in turn successful agriculture). Humans do our best to help influence and manipulate these conditions to improve our ability to grow crops, but even this is unable to change the basic fact that there are certain areas of the world that are […]
Among all the plant diseases and pests that those in agriculture face, it is often the viral-based conditions that prove the most troubling and difficult to manage. Unlike weed or insect-based attacks that can be combated with various types of pesticides or direct action, viruses have no explicit counter when working in agriculture. Vaccines for […]
Welcome to Miniposts, a series of articles based on posts made to the Bioscription Facebook page. Due to their often lengthy nature, it was decided that reposting them to the main site was appropriate. Please go here to view the original post. In connection to past discussions on food scarcity, changing climate, and using genetic […]
Welcome to Miniposts, a series of articles based on posts made to the Bioscription Facebook page. Due to their often lengthy nature, it was decided that reposting them to the main site was appropriate. Please go here to view the original post. The International Space Station (ISS) is the perfect place for new and exciting […]
