All Stories by Christen Brownlee
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Unhealthy Change: Diversity in a bacterial colony can prolong infections
Bacteria that live in biofilms can diversify into several different types, making infections harder to treat.
- Plants
Give and Take: Plant parasites dole out genes while stealing nutrients
New evidence suggests that parasitic plants can transfer their own genes into host plants.
- Health & Medicine
High-fat diets slim down learning
High-fat diets decrease the ability of male rats to learn and remember.
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Oxygen deficit linked to ADHD
Sleep apnea may be a risk factor for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
- Health & Medicine
Drug abuse could be an occupational hazard
Breathing minuscule amounts of painkillers administered to patients in surgery may increase an anesthesiologist's risk of abusing prescription drugs.
- Health & Medicine
Acne drug affects brain function
The antiacne drug Accutane may decrease activity in a part of the brain that regulates mood.
- Health & Medicine
Prescription for Trouble: Antidepressants might rewire young brains
Young mice exposed to a common type of antidepressant, known as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), showed symptoms of anxiety and depression in adulthood.
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Gene Doping
Inserting genes for extra strength or speed could give athletes an unbeatable, and perhaps undetectable, advantage in competitive sports.
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Cavefish blinded by gene expression
New evidence supports the theory that Mexican blind cavefish are sightless by evolutionary selection, not chance.
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Single gene turns flu deadly
Variations in a single gene may have dramatically increased the virulence of 1918 Spanish flu.
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Trash to Treasure: Junk DNA influences eggs, early embryos
A type of DNA once thought to be little more than genetic clutter may play a role in gene expression in mammalian eggs and newly formed embryos.
- Humans
Nobel prizes: The sweet smell of success
Nobel prizes in the sciences went to research on olfactory genes, subatomic particles, and the molecular kiss of death.
