In a major leap forward for genetic and biomedical research, two scientists at the University of Missouri have developed a powerful new artificial intelligence tool that can predict the 3D shape of chromosomes inside individual cells — helping researchers gain a new view of how our genes work. Chromosomes are the tiny storage boxes that hold our DNA. Since each cell has about six feet of DNA packed inside it, it must be folded up tightly to fit. This folding not only saves space — it also controls which genes are active or inactive. But when the DNA doesn’t fold…

Recent research points to the potential utility of a familiar sounding foe-herpes virus-in the fight against cancer. The idea: the virus has evolved to commandeer cellular machinery in order activate signaling pathways inside cells and these strategies can be repurposed to bolster immunotherapy against diseases like cancer. T cells are front line defenders against pathogens, like viruses, and cancer because they can kill infected or malignant cells. Scientists have for years been trying different techniques to direct these immune cells to protect against disease. CAR-T therapy is one such example of prompting the body’s own immune system to attack certain…

Ever since a few enterprising bed bugs hopped off a bat and attached themselves to a Neanderthal walking out of a cave 60,000 years ago, bed bugs have enjoyed a thriving relationship with their human hosts. Not so for the unadventurous bed bugs that stayed with the bats — their populations have continued to decline since the Last Glacial Maximum, also known as the ice age, which was about 20,000 years ago. A team led by two Virginia Tech researchers recently compared the whole genome sequence of these two genetically distinct lineages of bed bugs. Published in Biology Letters on…

As coral reefs struggle to adapt to warming waters, high levels of pollution and sea-level rise, ballooning sea-urchin populations are threatening to push some reefs in Hawaii past the point of recovery. The phenomenon is described in a new study that uses on-site field work and airborne imagery to track the health of the reef in Hōnaunau Bay, Hawaii. Overfishing is the main culprit behind the explosion in sea-urchin numbers, said Kelly van Woesik, Ph.D. student in the North Carolina State University Center for Geospatial Analytics and first author of the study. “Fishing in these areas has greatly reduced the…