A change in an organism's genomic sequence.
11
votes
1answer
278 views
Looking for a cancer drug target database to guide sequencing of patient tumor DNA
I have a question I would like to pose to the community. I have recently received access to a bench-top ion torrent DNA sequencer. Our idea is to use this machine to sequence the DNA from patient’s ...
3
votes
2answers
68 views
variation in antigen binding site of antibodies
Antibodies or immunoglobulins are proteins made by the immune system in response to alien(!) molecules. Each antibody binds to its specific antigen. This great diversity and specificity is cause of ...
9
votes
1answer
355 views
What is the modern state of the theory of evolution?
When I studied biology at my medical school we used to learn things about a century old: the famous Darwin's voyage on "Beagle" to the Galapagos Islands, the classical triad of his Theory of ...
10
votes
2answers
234 views
Which bacteria have the highest mutation rate?
From my reading on M. tuberculosis, I know that this organism has a pretty high mutation rate due to uncorrected sloppy replication, which leads to a high rate of development of spontaneous resistance ...
5
votes
1answer
114 views
Have there been attempts to identify Chomsky's “language mutation” in humans?
I'm not versed in either biology or linguistics so please forgive any naiveties I may commit.
I've learned that Noam Chomsky thinks that language is a result of a single genetic mutation in humans. ...
3
votes
1answer
20 views
Mutation in axillary buds of trees overcoming self-incompatability?
I seem to recall from either reading or lecture that there have been instances of trees that are self-incompatible accumulating enough mutations in an axillary bud that the resulting branch was able ...
2
votes
1answer
40 views
Arabidopsis thaliana RCSB active site gene mutant
I'm looking for an Arabidopsis thaliana gene listed in RCSB with a clear mode of function and active site. In addition it needs to have an obvious phenotype when knocked out like severely retarded ...
1
vote
1answer
50 views
Which cells will pass cancer to offspring?
Each of these types below contains a DNA mutation. Which type(s) will affect the children of the individual whose cell it is.
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5
votes
1answer
74 views
Mutation-immunity in Luria-Delbruck experiment
If experiments like those of Luria and Delbruck on E. coli and T1 phage are the main source of our confidence in the mutation-immunity model, is it then highly unlikely that there are other types of ...
2
votes
1answer
46 views
Is vision a vestigial sense for deep ocean species?
Sunlight doesn't penetrate beyond a couple of hundred feet from the surface of the ocean. Species that exist at greater depth probably live in a state of perpetual night; yet from a quick google image ...
3
votes
0answers
54 views
Are mature trees as susceptible to mutation from exposure to radiation as seedlings?
If a plant, say a ficus or a teak, as a sapling were exposed to radiation, and a tree of the same species were present at the same distance, which of the two would be more likely to mutate?
10
votes
3answers
189 views
Number of beneficial mutations cataloged?
I can see from Wikipedia that there are possibly thousands of harmful mutations that have been cataloged and linked to disease. There are also unnumbered neutral mutations. But, does anyone know how ...
3
votes
1answer
135 views
Predicting progeny of recessive mutations using recombination
I was asked this question on a test and got it wrong, but I'd like to know how to do it. The answers are shown in the blanks below:
You are studying two recessive mutations in the fruit fly D.
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