Genetic Archaeology News Archives Page 19

Childhood Environment Influences Reproductive Function (5/17/2007)

A study led by researchers at UCL (University College London) demonstrates that female reproductive function is influenced by childhood environment. This suggests there is a critical window of time from about 0-8 years of age that determines the rate at which girls physically mature and how high their reproductive hormone levels reach as adults. ...> Full Article

Research To Protect Kangaroos (5/17/2007)

A PhD student from James Cook University hopes her research will help defend Australian shores from an exotic wasting disease which, in the event of an outbreak, could have devastating implications for the iconic kangaroo. ...> Full Article

Scientists Attach Genes To Mini-Chromosomes In Maize (5/17/2007)

A team of scientists at the University of Missouri-Columbia has discovered a way to create engineered mini-chromosomes in maize and attach genes to those mini-chromosomes. This discovery opens new possibilities for the development of crops that are multiply resistant to viruses, insects, fungi, bacteria and herbicides, and for the development of proteins and metabolites that can be used to treat human illnesses. ...> Full Article

Reproductive Speed Protects Large Animals From Being Hunted to Extinction (5/17/2007)

Understanding the importance of reproductive rates could help conservation managers zero in on which species are in the greatest peril ...> Full Article

Biotechnology Solves Debate Over Origin Of European Potato (5/17/2007)

Molecular studies recently revealed new genetic information concerning the long-disputed origin of the "European potato." Scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of La Laguna, and the International Potato Center used genetic markers to prove that the remnants of the earliest known landraces of the European potato are of Andean and Chilean origin. They report their findings in the May-June 2007 issue of Crop Science. ...> Full Article

Female Of The Species As Deadly As The Male (5/17/2007)

Female chimpanzees can be as violent and demonic as males, shattering the stereotype that males are the more aggressive of the species. ...> Full Article

DNA Damage To Nuclear Test Vets Prompts Call For Study Of Children (5/16/2007)

The Government is considering whether to fund studies into the health of nuclear test veterans' children, after a Massey study confirmed that the veterans had suffered genetic damage as a result of radiation. ...> Full Article

Brain, Size and Gender Surprises in Latest Fossil Tying Humans, Apes and Monkeys (5/16/2007)

A surprisingly complete fossil skull of an ancient relative of humans, apes and monkeys bears striking evidence that our remote ancestor was less mentally advanced than expected by about 29 million years ago. ...> Full Article

Nimblegen Systems Adds Dna Methlyation Arrays And Services To Growing Product Portfolio (5/16/2007)

NimbleGen Systems, Inc. announced today the addition of DNA methylation analysis microarrays and services to its growing suite of genomic and epigenetic analysis tools. In addition to microarray designs allowing researchers to survey whole genomes, promoter regions, CpG islands, and ENCODE-defined regions, researchers can customize the content of their arrays based on individual study goals. ...> Full Article

Summer Course Combines Archaeology With Filmmaking In Yellowstone (5/15/2007)

A summer course for teachers combines the science of archaeology with the art of documentary filmmaking at a working archaeological site in Yellowstone National Park. ...> Full Article

Researchers Find Cause of Muscle-Stiffness Disease (5/15/2007)

Imagine a dog running after a ball, only to stiffen up and fall over because of a genetic muscle cell disorder. It may sound almost comical, but this disorder, called Myotonia congenita, affects dogs, cats, horses, water buffalo, and even people. ...> Full Article

Cataloging the Structural Variations in Human Genetics (5/14/2007)

A major new effort to uncover the medium- and large-scale genetic differences between humans may soon reveal DNA sequences that contribute to a wide range of diseases, according to a paper by Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Evan Eichler and 17 colleagues published in the May 10, 2007, Nature. The undertaking will help researchers identify structural variations in DNA sequences, which Eichler says amount to as much as five to ten percent of the human genome. ...> Full Article

Frog Muscles Survive Big Sleep (5/14/2007)

A rare Australian frog that burrows underground for a summer siesta resurfaces more than nine months later in just as good a shape as before its rest, according to UQ research. ...> Full Article

Species Thrive When Sexual Dimorphism Broadens Their Niches (5/13/2007)

Some Caribbean lizards' strong sexual dimorphism allows them to colonize much larger niches and habitats than they might otherwise occupy, allowing males and females to avoid competing with each other for resources and setting the stage for the population as a whole to thrive. The finding, reported this week in the journal Nature, suggests sex differences may have fueled the evolutionary flourishing of the Earth's wildly diverse fauna in a way not previously appreciated by scientists. ...> Full Article

Researchers Identify A Process That Enables Access To Genes (5/12/2007)

It turns out there's more than one way to skin a gene. New research from Rockefeller University suggests that two closely related DNA unpackaging mechanisms may not work the way scientists thought. ...> Full Article

DNA Evidence Confirms Theory That Modern Humans Have Common Ancestry (5/11/2007)

Researchers have produced new DNA evidence that almost certainly confirms the theory that all modern humans have a common ancestry. ...> Full Article

Secret Of A Long Life And Sex Appeal? (5/11/2007)

Researchers at the Universities of Glasgow and Exeter have found that eating certain plant substances can slow down the rate of aging. ...> Full Article

Egyptians, Not Greeks Were True Fathers Of Medicine (5/11/2007)

Scientists examining documents dating back 3,500 years say they have found proof that the origins of modern medicine lie in ancient Egypt and not with Hippocrates and the Greeks. ...> Full Article

Newly Decoded Opossum Genome Sheds Light On Evolution (5/11/2007)

'Restless lifestyle' of so-called junk DNA has meaning for all ...> Full Article

Gene Mutation Linked To Cognition Is Found Only In Humans (5/10/2007)

The human and chimpanzee genomes vary by just 1.2 percent, yet there is a considerable difference in the mental and linguistic capabilities between the two species. A new study showed that a certain form of neuropsin, a protein that plays a role in learning and memory, is expressed only in the central nervous systems of humans and that it originated less than 5 million years ago. The study, which also demonstrated the molecular mechanism that creates this novel protein, will be published online in Human Mutation, the official journal of the Human Genome Variation Society. ...> Full Article

Genetic Roots Of Bipolar Disorder Revealed (5/10/2007)

The likelihood of developing bipolar disorder depends in part on the combined, small effects of variations in many different genes in the brain, none of which is powerful enough to cause the disease by itself, a new study shows. However, targeting the enzyme produced by one of these genes could lead to development of new, more effective medications. The research was conducted by scientists at the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), with others from the Universities of Heidelberg and Bonn and a number of U.S. facilities collaborating in a major project called the NIMH Genetics Initiative. ...> Full Article

Scientists Trying to Reconstruct Prehistoric Flood Levels (5/10/2007)

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory geologists have put out a call for teeth tusks, femurs and any and all other parts of extinct mammoths left by massive Ice Age floods in southeastern Washington. ...> Full Article

DNA Study Shows Caribbean Bats Migrate to Mainland to Breed (5/9/2007)

Ever since the relationship between land area and number of species crystallized into a mathematical power function, islands and island archipelagoes have been thought of as biological destinations where species from large continents arrive and, over time, evolve into new species in geographic seclusion. ...> Full Article

Research Suggests Men's Sexual Behavior Adapts to Perceived Threats (5/9/2007)

A review of the latest research in sexual adaptation shows that evidence is building for what researchers call "sperm competition."� According to a review appearing in Current Directions in Psychological Science, physical and behavioral sexual characteristics exhibited by human males indicate that males have evolved to deliver their sperm more effectively to females with multiple partners. ...> Full Article

Researchers Learn How Cells Keep Their Chromosomes Intact To Avoid Range Of Genetic Diseases (5/9/2007)

For more than a century, scientists have studied the process of meiosis, the type of cell division that produces egg and sperm cells. But a full understanding of the process, which is known to play a key role in causing birth defects such as Down syndrome, has remained elusive. ...> Full Article

Researchers Explore Queen Bee Longevity (5/9/2007)

The queen honey bee is genetically identical to the workers in her hive, but she lives 10 times longer and - unlike her sterile sisters - remains reproductively viable throughout life. A study from the University of Illinois sheds new light on the molecular mechanisms that account for this divergence. The study appears in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ...> Full Article

New Technique Will Produce A Better Chromosome Map (5/8/2007)

Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a simple and economical technique for imaging and mapping fruit fly chromosomes. This new approach will enable them to construct the first accurate map of the chromosomes and tease out the secrets hidden in their stripes. ...> Full Article

Researchers Explore Genetics Of Canine Speed (5/8/2007)

Whippets are bred for speed. These dogs have the appearance of a small greyhound and have been clocked sprinting to speeds approaching 40 miles per hour over a 200-yard racing course. Recently, scientists at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), discovered a genetic mutation that helps to explain why some whippets run even faster than others. ...> Full Article

Gene Helps Distinguish Self from Non-Self During Neural Development (5/7/2007)

Like the elegant branching of a tree, the dendritic limbs of developing nerve cells must organize themselves to cover as much space as they can evenly and efficiently. To complicate matters, they must also take care to avoid overlapping with their sister dendrites. ...> Full Article

Lab-on-a-chip Device To Speed Proteomics Research (5/7/2007)

In recent years, the science of biology has been dominated by genomics - the study of genes and their functions. The genomics era is now making way for the era of proteomics - the study of the proteins that genes encode. ...> Full Article