Genes are not passive. They are the target of molecular “dimmer switches”; typically (but not always) specific proteins, which dial up or turn down their activity. Most genes are translated into proteins, but discovering the true role of those proteins, in the life of a cell or a whole organism, is still one of the great challenges [...]
Category Archives: Disease Models
Some of our genes are missing…but which ones?
One can think of genes in a number of ways: At the level of the DNA – simply as a linear sequence of nucleotides, in ONE fixed order, in the “normal” state, or Again as a DNA molecule, but remember that genes in organisms, rather than in pieces of DNA in a test-tube, are subject [...]
Also posted in Genomics
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What might a small mouse teach us about human congenital abnormalities?
Mice are born with their eyes tightly shut, opening them for the first time only a few days later. So when a mouse was noticed that was smaller than normal and had been born with it’s eyes open, it drew attention. Abnormalities like this arise spontaneously in all animal facilities, but sometimes they are not [...]
Posted in Disease Models
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