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In the late 1970s, Harvey Lodish co-taught the very first cell biology class at Massachusetts Institute of Technology – a course that existed in very few universities. As a result, he was in the bothersome position of having to teach without a text. But eventually, Lodish’s frustration led to action, and the result was one of the more successful textbooks in the $100-million industry of life sciences texts.

Researchers have developed a method for scanning the entire human genome to successfully map the location of key gene regulators, mutated forms of which are known to cause type 2 diabetes. The research marks the first time that human organshave been analyzed in this way and opens the door to similar studies.

Many scientists believe that the further a cell is from the embryonic stem cell stage, the harder it is to make a successful clone using that cell’s genetic material. Now, researchers at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research have cloned mice using olfactory neurons – cells far removed from the embryonic state.

New research into a family of cell wall proteins shows how yeast can present a variety of “faces” to its environment. In pathogens like yeast, these cell surface proteins regulate how the cell sticks to other cells, interacts with surrounding tissue and evades detection by the immune system.