Featured image: Chimera of Arezzo, Etruscan bronze statue. Image by I, Sailko, CC BY-SA 3.0 Chimera is a well-known creature from Greek mythology. If you are unfamiliar with chimera, imagine a fire-breathing monster that is part lion, part goat, part snake (and sometimes also part dragon). Pretty hard to picture, right? Other than in Greek … Continue reading Chimeras: the biology, not only mythology
Unstable genome: a friend and a foe of cancer
How does a normal cell go rogue and evolve into deadly invaders that storm uncontrollably? How does cancer do it? In this post, Audrey dives into the paradoxical relationship between cancer and unstable chromosomes, a relevant subject in her research.
Epigenetics 101 and the potential of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)
As you might know, DNA is the genetic material that allows for life as we know it to exist. If you want to know more about what DNA is made of or how was it discovered, check out our previous posts "It's in your DNA" and "The secret to life past and present" by Siobhan … Continue reading Epigenetics 101 and the potential of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)
Manipulating the blueprints of life
You have probably heard about genetic engineering in the past two decades. It may seem absurd, but what many of us might not realize is that, after decades of talking about it, we are on the brink of a major change for society — one where we can rewrite genes almost as easily as we … Continue reading Manipulating the blueprints of life
It’s in your DNA
In my previous post, we looked at the history of how the ‘secret of life’, namely the helical structure (like a spiraling staircase) of DNA, was discovered in 1953. While the helical structure is well-known to us, the question that remains is what is DNA actually chemically made up of? And how does this allow … Continue reading It’s in your DNA
The secret to life – past and present
You might already know by now, that the reason your physical features resemble your biological parents' physical features is because of the molecule we call deoxyribonucleic acid – or DNA. Moreover, you will probably have guessed that DNA is the essential code to all life, from the smallest to the largest living organism on Earth. … Continue reading The secret to life – past and present
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