The search space for protein engineering grows exponentially with complexity. A protein of just 100 amino acids has 20100 possible variants—more combinations than atoms in the observable universe.

Researchers have created the first complete map showing how hundreds of mutations in a key cancer gene affect tumor growth. By testing every possible mutation in a critical hotspot, they found that ...

A gene known as CTNNB1 encodes for a crucial protein called B-catenin, which has an important role in controlling tissue ...

James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.View full profile James is a ...

Scientists studying how microbes evolve have long assumed that nearly all new genetic mutations get passed down at a predictable pace and usually without either helping or hurting the microbe in ...

Qi Zheng does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their ...

Scientists have created a complete map showing how hundreds of possible mutations in a key cancer gene influence tumor growth. The study focused on CTNNB1, a gene that produces the protein β-catenin, ...

One mutation may have been crucial to the covid-19 variant JN.1 spreading rapidly around the world last year, demonstrating how quickly the virus can adapt. “A single mutation in JN.1 was key for it ...

(THE CONVERSATION) Do bacteria mutate randomly, or do they mutate for a purpose? Researchers have been puzzling over this conundrum for over a century. In 1943, microbiologist Salvador Luria and ...