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Genetic Archaeology News - July 2009 Archives
Genetic evidence is revealing that human populations began to expand in size in Africa during the Late Stone Age approximately 40,000 years ago. Michael F. Hammer and colleagues at the University of Arizona found that sub-Saharan populations increased in size well before the development of agriculture. This research, published in PLoS ONE on July 29, supports the hypothesis that population growth played a significant role in the evolution of human cultures in the Late Pleistocene.
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 | A new analysis of the remains of a Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex) that roamed Earth 68 million years ago has confirmed traces of protein from blood and bone, tendons, or cartilage. The findings, scheduled for publication in the Sept. 4 issue of ACS' monthly Journal of Proteome Research, is the latest addition to an ongoing controversy over which biochemical remnants can be detected in the dino. ...> Full Article |
 | Evidence buried in the chromosomes of animals and plants strongly suggests only one group -- mammals -- have seen their genomes shrink after the dinosaurs' extinction. What's more, that trend continues today, say Indiana University Bloomington scientists in the first issue of a new journal, Genome Biology and Evolution. ...> Full Article |
 | The coevolutionary struggle between a New Zealand snail and its worm parasite makes sex advantageous for the snail, whose females favor asexual reproduction in the absence of parasites, say Indiana University Bloomington and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology biologists in this week's Current Biology. ...> Full Article |
Genetic research indicates that Australian Aborigines initially arrived via south Asia. Researchers writing in the open-access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology have found telltale mutations in modern-day Indian populations that are exclusively shared by Aborigines.
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Researchers demonstrate how genetic mutations and natural variations combine to produce twin spores in bacteria that normally produce only singletons
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 | Scientists long have suspected that the sex chromosome that only males carry, the Y chromosome, is deteriorating, but until now, no one has understood the evolutionary processes that control this chromosome's demise. Now, a pair of Penn State scientists has discovered that the Y chromosome is evolving at a rapid rate, resulting in a dramatic loss of genes that eventually could lead to the chromosome's complete disappearance. ...> Full Article |
 | A new study finds that a change in a single gene has sent two closely related bird populations on their way to becoming two distinct species. The study, published in the August issue of the American Naturalist, is one of only a few to investigate the specific genetic changes that drive two populations toward speciation. ...> Full Article |
Scientists have shown that E. coli -- one of the best known and extensively studied organisms in the world -- remains an enigma that may hold the key to human diseases, such as cancer. The team has examined the genome sequence of this workhorse of the laboratory and spotted three previously unknown genes that are essential for the survival of E. coli. One out of the three could be implicated in cancer or developmental abnormalities in humans.
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 | Drifting across the world's oceans are a group of unicellular marine microorganisms that are not only a crucial source of food for other marine life -- but their fossils, which are found in abundance, provide scientists with an extraordinary record of climatic change and other major events in the history of the Earth. ...> Full Article |
Nobel laureates Drs. Francis Crick and James Watson's first model of DNA is shown as a rigid double helix. However, the model is a stiff snapshot of idealized DNA. As researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Houston note in a report that appears online in the journal Nucleic Acids Research, DNA is not stiff or static. It is dynamic with high energy existing naturally in a slightly underwound state and its status changes in waves generated by normal cell functions.
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Emory researchers are tapping the latest-generation DNA sequencing technology to become the first explorers of the genomics of agricultural ant societies. The project is one of the first attempts to use genomics to understand a complex interacting system, rather than a single organism. If scientists can understand how these ants have evolved to process huge amounts of organic material, it might help humans discover more efficient ways to process waste materials, produce bio-fuels, or improve agricultural methods.
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Mutational patterns in mitochondrial genomes show functional importance of evolution and disease
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 | Swedish and polish researchers now publish results from the analysis of the putative remains of Copernicus. A DNA-analysis of shed of hairs found in a book from Museum Gustavianum, Uppsala University, was one interesting piece in the project. ...> Full Article |
 | What's so great about sex? From an evolutionary perspective, the answer is not as obvious as one might think. An article published in the July issue of the American Naturalist suggests that sex may have evolved in part as a defense against parasites. ...> Full Article |
The lack of federal regulation in instances of DNA use will be addressed in the Policy Forum section in the July 3 issue of Science by Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, Ph.D., of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, and colleagues from four other universities. The need for a clear set of rules governing genetic ancestry testing is becoming more urgent, Lee said, given the proliferation of private corporations that promise consumers insight into their genetic origins.
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 | Scientists have performed the first DNA-based reconstruction of the giant extinct moa bird, using prehistoric feathers recovered from caves and rock shelters in New Zealand. ...> Full Article |
Transcriptomic tests have uncovered the protein composition of venom from the Scorpiops jendeki scorpion. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Genomics have carried out the first ever venom analysis in this arachnid, and discovered nine novel poison molecules never before seen in any scorpion species.
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 | Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have zeroed in on the genes responsible for changing flower color, an area of research that began with Gregor Mendel's studies of the garden pea in the 1850's. ...> Full Article |
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Fish can recognize a face based on UV pattern alone
'Anaconda' meets 'Jurassic Park': Study shows ancient snakes ate dinosaur babies
Scientists locate apparent hydrothermal vents off Antarctica
Mars Express heading for closest flyby of Phobos
Artificial bee silk a big step closer to reality
Predicting the fate of stem cells
Artificial foot recycles energy for easier walking
New fiber nanogenerators could lead to electric clothing
What drives our genes? Researchers map the first complete human epigenome
Juggling enhances connections in the brain
Tracking down the human 'odorprint'
Fill 'er up - with algae
Scientists discover quantum fingerprints of chaos
Researchers help identify cows that gain more while eating less
Scientific breakthrough in genetic studies of animal domestication
Scientists discover 600 million-year-old origins of vision
Unselfish molecules may have helped give birth to the genetic material of life
Exploring Echinacea's enigmatic origins
Lizard moms choose the right genes for the right gender offspring
Modern man found to be generally monogamous, moderately polygamous
Ancient DNA from rare fossil reveals that polar bears evolved recently and adapted quickly
Does promiscuity prevent extinction?
Stickleback genomes shining bright light on evolution
Researchers uncover DNA sequence of extinct ancient cattle
Small dogs originated in the Middle East