Browse evidence-based analysis of health-related claims and assertions
Primitive cells have more of a certain chemical tag on a key protein than mature cells do, and when scientists fake that tag in mature cells, it messes with how they build DNA parts — showing this tag might help decide which building method the cell uses.
Simple cells make their own pyrimidines from scratch or recycle them, but more mature cells mostly just recycle them—even though they could make new ones. This seems to be a basic rule in both animals and humans, including in tumors.
Could the stuff added to processed foods affect men's testosterone levels?
Giving certain hormone treatments to girls who start puberty too early can help them grow taller as adults.
Some supplements might help your body process estrogen in a safer way, potentially lowering the risk of certain health issues.
By tracking how cells handle nitrogen, scientists might be able to spot when and how they switch on different ways of building key genetic building blocks, depending on what state the cell is in.
A lot of mold found in Brazilian food has the gene needed to make a toxin called fumonisin — about 7 out of 10 samples — and sometimes it also has genes for another toxin, which means these molds could potentially produce harmful substances.
About a third of certain mold strains found in Brazilian food don’t have the genes needed to make two harmful toxins, which means they probably don’t produce them.
More than half of the black mold strains found in Brazilian food have a gene that could let them make a harmful toxin, but they're missing other genes—so they might only be able to make one type of that toxin.
Some mold found in Brazilian food has the genes to make a harmful toxin called ochratoxin — about 1 in 30 of these molds could make it, but not another toxin, suggesting a small risky group we should watch.
About 1 in 6 mold strains found in Brazilian food can potentially make two different harmful toxins, based on their genes.
When a specific gene called AnAzf1 is removed in a fungus named Aspergillus niger, its energy production system doesn't work as well — like a battery running low because some parts of the power plant aren't functioning.
When a specific gene called AnAzf1 is removed in a fungus named Aspergillus niger, it leads to less harmful molecules in the cells, boosts some protective enzymes, and changes how certain genes related to stress and iron control work.
When scientists turned off a specific gene called AnAzf1 in a mold called Aspergillus niger, it stopped making a toxin called ochratoxin A in lab tests.
Humans and cows have almost identical DNA instructions for making a protein called calcineurin B — their blueprints match 97.1% in that section, which means it's super similar between the two species.
Scientists figured out the full blueprint of a specific brain protein in cows, and it's made up of 841 genetic 'letters' arranged in three parts: a start section, the main instruction part, and an end section.
The brain protein calcineurin B in cows is exactly the same as the one in humans — letter for letter in its building blocks — which means it’s likely worked the same way for millions of years and could be studied across species.
Cheese made in the lab with a special enzyme from yaks feels and clumps together just like regular cheese made with cow enzymes.
This lab-made enzyme from yaks works best at clumping milk when it's slightly acidic and warm — just like in real cheese-making.
Putting sugar tags on a lab-made yak enzyme in yeast doesn’t really change how much you get or how well it works in small lab bottles — so those sugar tags might not matter much at first.
Scientists made a special enzyme from yaks using yeast in a lab tank, and it worked well—producing a measurable amount of active enzyme.
When a specific gene switch called AnGal4 is turned off in a type of fungus, it builds up more harmful oxygen byproducts and becomes more sensitive to bleach-like stress, especially when eating certain sugars.
When this mold eats certain sugars like sucrose, glucose, or arabinose, it turns on genes that help make a toxin, and two of those genes become over three times more active than when it's eating something else.
When this type of fungus grows on sugars like sucrose or glucose, its natural defenses (which help it handle stress) get weaker compared to when it grows on a protein-based food like peptone.