Synthetic biology is complicated. When you’re building biological systems from the ground up, how could it not be? But the results are almost always something amazing, a real revolutionary accomplishment that wouldn’t be possible with any other field of science. The only other field that comes close is nanotechnology and mechanical systems are still somewhat […]
Evolution isn’t perfect. It is not a controlled or directed system, but instead just a result of adaptation to one’s environment through trial and error. Over a long period of time and generations, this trends toward organisms with better traits suited for their environment, because those with less suited traits from random mutations when born […]
A Historical Viewpoint The Explosion Onto The Public Stage For those focused on how history will favor the uncovering of CRISPR and the miraculous developments that have and will spawn from it, the first thing to note is that the idea and research into the technology started several years prior to its explosion into the […]
Plants aren’t all that different than animals, when it comes down to it. While they can photosynthesize their needs from the sun, for the most part, they still require the same general nutrients and access to water that we do. And one other critical component that they need to survive is the ability to breathe. […]
In studies of how to survive in space and in hostile environments, there is often no better a scientific specimen than the tardigrade, the so-called water bear. This is due to its capability to survive in such scenarios and far more besides. Even exposure to the vacuum of space doesn’t do much to deter it. […]
Yellow fever is one of those diseases that you really want to avoid contracting. But for 200,000 people every year, they don’t receive that option. A Yellow Condition The yellow fever virus is the originating name for its parent genus of Flaviviruses, where the yellow of its name in Latin (Flavus) colors all the rest […]
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 […]
Ants are fascinating. As examples of highly social, structured, and often single-minded species, ants easily pique the interest of biologists and even scientists as a whole. Similar to bees, their colony structure exists as highly divergent from the rest of the multicellular life in the world. Most of it, at least. They can be viewed, […]
Cloning is a difficult process. Even with modern technologies, the best we can do is generate matching organs from a person’s stem cells, but this itself is still tricky to accomplish. Actually cloning a whole organism? We’re nowhere near where we need to be. The Troubles of Cloning The main problem inherent in this process […]
Parasites are some of the most diverse organisms found in nature. They can take a number of different forms and are spread liberally across the kingdom of life. From bacteria to plants to even some creatures in the mammal realm, parasites are everywhere. The Diverse World of Parasites However, even with that understanding, that doesn’t […]
