Author Archives: Sergio P. Acebrón
Growing big: extracellular cues boost growth in dividing cells

A human body harbors around 37 trillion [1012] cells that came from a single fertilized egg by a process known as mitotic division or mitosis. While the first cellular divisions of an embryo occur without […]
Raw Science: The DNA ladder (1977)

Can you guess the sequence of the DNA strand that is analyzed in this experiment? (Feel free to use the comments!). One does not need to be a biochemist to figure it out. Start from the bottom of the picture. […]
Raw Science: The 600,000 year-old human who lost 2 teeth in the II World War.

In 1907, Daniel, a miner working in Mauer, near Heidelberg (Germany), found a jaw of unequivocally human origin. The bone was a complete jaw but lacked the characteristic prominent chin of our species, Homo sapiens. The fossil was identified […]
Unraveling protein knots

Proteins are sophisticated machines that perform most of our cellular activities. Proteins are codified in the cellular DNA and synthesized as linear chains that need to get properly folded in a 3D structure to become functional. This state is […]
Daily aspirin linked to lower cancer deaths

A study published last year in The Lancet showed that a daily dose of aspirin reduces the risk of dying from several types of cancer. According to the authors’ data, long-term daily intake reduces the probability of dying from solid […]