Future science
Biological issues took precedence over all others at the recently-held science congress in Chennai
One big family
As we peek into our past, the number of our ancestors seems to double in every generation. For every human being has two parents, four …
How Dolly was cloned
A HISTORY OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY·Michel Morange· translated by Matthew Cobb·Oxford University Press·pp336·Rs 495
Genetically modified cowpea clears its first hurdle in Ghana, but there’s a long way to go
GM crops represent a potentially important tool for the country’s food security strategy
Indian scientists working to unravel rare type of diarrhoea
Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science are developing a novel transgenic mouse which will express the human GUCY2C protein, a receptor for …
What if the Lazarus returns
We may never be able to bring extinct species back to life. Yet, scientists are drawing up secret plans for their resurrection
Digital diagnosis: intelligent machines do a better job than humans
Humans can only do so much when it comes to diagnosing a patient. So why not let machines take over? They learn faster …
Selling God's secrets
After 20 years of scepticism, increasing sales have finally convinced industries that genetic engineering holds the key to the future.
Gene storage bank gets major facelift
Worried by the steady erosion of India's wealth of genetic diversity, a major expansion project will quadruple storage capacity in the national …
Revoked!
The cancellation of a US firm's rights on a method to genetically engineer cotton has brought weaknesses in India's patent system into focus
Can the Grim Reaper wait, please?
A timeless dream: eternal youth, unblemished by illness. The search for the font of immortality has taken a late 20th century turn into what …
Introns: the war of hypotheses
Two groups experiment to uphold the tenability of one theory of genesis of introns over another, yet fail to resolve the basic questions …
Chromosomal close-ups
Discovery of a new mode of dosage compensation -- that is, how the sexes are compensated for their reduced dosage of chromosome linked genes -- …
Hunting for cure
By identifying the proteins with which the gene responsible for Huntington's disease reacts, researchers are optimistic of finding an antidote …
The inside story
The interpretation of the genetic code of the baker's yeast has brought scientists to within a couple of steps of their final objective - …
Muscling in
Primary muscle cells - myoblasts - can act as synthesising agents for proteins. transplanted in the body of a patient, myoblasts could help in …
The long and short of it
The efforts of an American biologist might give science something to remember him by. Working with fruitj1ies and the CREB gene, Timothy Tully is …
Eyeless in
Genetic engineering enables the discovery of a gene responsible for the development of the eye, suggesting new possibilities of treating defects …
Yes, master
The fruitfly - subject of researches by three Nobel prize-winning developmental biologists - offers exciting insights into how genes control and …
The cell snatchers
And now it is the turn for human cells to be patented on the sly by scientific vampires', as shows the bizarre case of a Hagahai tribal male
The cytokine factor
A group of genes help creating cytokines, which could either offer a protective cover against immunological diseases or else inflame them
Cause for worry?
BA new study focuses on the link between genetic influence and anxiety leading to varied behaviour among different people
Hope for infertile women
A new method to overcome infertility in mothers uses the same technique which was used to clone Dolly, the sheep
Victim of changes
In a politically correct world, it is indeed surprising that the male cells enjoy an unabashed superiority when it comes to mutation
How genes cheat
In order to promote themselves, certain genes resort to underhand tactics. Welcome to the realities of evolution
