Dakota McCoy

Dec 5, 2024 | newatlas.com | Ben Coxworth |Dakota McCoy

When it comes to technologies used only by humans, you might think that fiber optics would rank right up there. Such is apparently not the case, however, as scientists have discovered that a certain clam uses "fiber optics" of its own to get food. Named for its heart-shaped shell, the heart cockle is a marine clam found in the Indo-Pacific region. Along with plankton that it filters from the water, the mollusk also feeds on sugars produced by algae that live in its soft tissue.

Sep 17, 2024 | biorxiv.org | Devin King |Dakota McCoy |Adrian Perdyan |Jakub Mieczkowski

AbstractThe p53 tumor suppressor is an indispensable regulator of DNA damage responses that accelerates carcinogenesis when mutated. In this report, we uncover a new mechanism by which p53 maintains genomic integrity in the absence of canonical DNA damage response activation. Specifically, loss of p53 dramatically alters chromatin structure at the nuclear periphery, allowing increased transmission of an environmental carcinogen, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, into the nucleus.