Eggs have a highly organized spatial structure. Common sense tells us that if we scramble this structure, the life of the egg will probably end. Contrary to this expectation, we discovered that scrambled frog eggs can spontaneously re-organize into compartments that not only resemble cells, but also divide to produce copies of compartments like living cells in a developing embryo.

Rats have notably long whiskers. We wondered how one can best describe the shape of those whiskers. Our extensive analysis of 523 whiskers led us to conclude that all the whiskers on a rat's cheek can be well approximated by segments of a Euler Spiral. So what?- you may well ask.

Classical genetics dictates that chromosomal DNA stores all the heritable information. However, the DNA sequence is not the only piece of information that one generation passes down to the next. We here present a compelling case where the ability of roundworms to efficiently find food is passed on to its future generation by the production of small molecules, known as small RNAs.

Cassava is an important food crop in sub-Saharan Africa, but contains relatively small amounts of essential vitamins and minerals. The addition of just two genes from another plant into cassava enables it to produce and store significantly more iron and zinc, which is retained through common cooking processes. This new crop can contribute to a more balanced diet and prevent cases of hidden hunger.

We have taken a systems genetics look at sleep to peel back the many layers regulating sleep. Using this approach, we could connect specific DNA variations to sleep traits and track the layer-to-layer information flow. Peeling back the –omics onion of sleep is thus revealing a number of new insights that can now be followed up on.

Genes encode proteins that perform functions in our bodies, so when we lose genes, we lose the ability to perform their associated tasks. For marine mammals, loss of one gene may leave them especially vulnerable to exposure to widely-used chemicals.