Professors awarded NASA grants Sep 3, 2009
Gyolai garnered funding to offer animal cell culturing at the freshman level, a rarity in the academic world. For three weeks, students will subdivide and grow a culture of cat kidney cells during lab and keep it free of bacteria or fungi. (Wahpeton Daily News, ND)
What Ever Happened to That Scary Avian Flu, Anyway? Apr 29, 2009
But sometimes the immunologic change is more dramatic"antigenic shift," which occurs when an animal cell (maybe a bird's, maybe that of a mammal) becomes infected with two influenza viruses from different sources and the genetic information gets mashed together. When that happens, it is relatively easy for viral strands from each of the different original viruses to become mixed up and packaged together in a new virus. (Slate)
Prestige Oil Spill Caused Changes In Cell Structure Of Mussels Apr 4, 2009
The author of the PhD thesis is the biologist Ms Larraitz Garmendia Altuna, who entitled her work, "Monitoring of the biological effects of the Prestige oil spill, based on the biomarker approach: mussel watch from Galicia to the Basque coast." The director of the thesis was Mr Ionan Marig;mez Allende from the Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology at the UPV/EHU s Faculty of Science and Technology. In order to undertake the thesis Ms Garmendia visited the Haskin Shellfish Research... (Science Daily)
What is Genetic Engineering? Mar 26, 2009
But in bacteria and viruses, it's a small circle of DNA. This circle of DNA can be manipulated to carry a specific gene or part of a gene into an animal cell. Scientists cut a piece out of the circle, put in the gene they want and send these "vectors" into the cell. (Suite101.com)
Plant Biologists Discover Gene That Switches On 'Essence Of Male' Mar 21, 2009
So like animal cell Myb proteins, DUO1 is needed for control of cell proliferation, but DUO1 is distinguished by its specific role in plant reproduction, namely its dual role in sperm cell production and switching on their ability to fertilize. Professor Twell added that the study could help to unravel the evolutionary origins of plant sperm cells and provide new molecular tools for the manipulation of plant fertility and hybrid seed production as well as to control gene flow in transgenic crops... (Science Daily)
