Genetic Archaeology News Archives Page 21

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

Team Sheds Light on Long-Sought Cold Sensation Gene (5/7/2007)

For years, scientists have struggled to identify the genes responsible for mammals' sensation of cold. Finally, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and the Novartis Research Foundation have shown that a gene called TRPM8 is responsible for the bulk of this ability in mice. ...> Full Article

Largest Dinosaur Bones In Australia Discovered (5/7/2007)

The largest bones of any dinosaur known in Australia went on display at the Queensland Museum for the first time today. ...> Full Article

Mitochondria Regulates Cellular Copper Levels (5/6/2007)

Copper is an essential part of our lives. From copper pipes and wires - to important copper-containing proteins in the body, copper is necessary for healthy growth and neurological development. Researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill University are studying how copper is processed in our bodies and its distinct role in early development. ...> Full Article

University Of Oregon's Mongolia Efforts Land NEH Grant (5/6/2007)

Rock art, altars, burial mounds and standing stones of the Altai Mountains in Mongolia reveal cultural traces of ancient hunters, herders and nomads of the Eurasian steppes. Mapping this archaeology and the significance of its physical settings is the mission of a team of scholars from the University of Oregon. ...> Full Article

How To Look At Dinosaur Tracks (5/5/2007)

A new study appearing in the May issue of The Journal of Geology provides fascinating insight into the factors geologists must account for when examining dinosaur tracks. The authors studied a range of larger tracks from the family of dinosaurs that includes the T. Rex and the tridactyl, and provide a guide for interpreting the effects of many different types of erosion on these invaluable impressions. ...> Full Article

Arsenic-Absorbing Fern May Soak Up Toxic Metal To Repel Hungry Bugs (5/5/2007)

In the struggle for survival, plants are often at the mercy of hungry animals - but one fern has turned the tables by using poisonous arsenic to reduce its appeal, say University of Florida researchers. ...> Full Article

Climate Change Pushed Neanderthal Into Extinction In Iberian Peninsula (5/4/2007)

Climate – and not modern humans – was the cause of the Neanderthal extinction in the Iberian Peninsula. Such is the conclusion of the University of Granada research group RNM 179 - Mineralogy and Geochemistry of sedimentary and metamorphic environments, headed by professor Miguel Ortega Huertas and whose members Francisco José Jiménez Espejo, Francisca Martínez Ruiz and David Gallego Torres work jointly at the department of Mineralogy and Petrology of the University of Granada (Universidad de Granada) and the Andalusian Regional Institute of Earth Sciences (CSIC-UGR). ...> Full Article

Global Survey of Lizards Reveals Greater Abundance of Animals on Islands Than on Mainland Ecosystems (5/4/2007)

A comprehensive survey of lizards on islands around the world has confirmed what island biologists and seafaring explorers have long observed: Animals on islands are much more abundant than their counterparts on the mainland. ...> Full Article

Ape Gestures Offer Clues to the Evolution of Human Communication (5/4/2007)

Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, have found bonobos and chimpanzees use manual gestures of their hands, feet and limbs more flexibly than they do facial expressions and vocalizations, further supporting the evolution of human language began with gestures as the gestural origin hypothesis of language suggests. This study appears in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ...> Full Article

Coral Genome Project Suspects Coral Genome Bigger Than Humans (5/3/2007)

The humble coral may possess as many genes - and possibly even more - than humans do. And remarkably, although it is very distant from humans in evolutionary terms, coral has many of the immune system genes that protect people against disease. ...> Full Article

Female Ducks Evolve To Protect Them From Rape (5/3/2007)

A team of scientists from the University of Sheffield and Yale University in the US have discovered that the female reproductive systems in some ducks and geese have evolved in order to keep unwanted male attention at bay. ...> Full Article

Researcher Shed Light On Diet Of Early Human Ancestors (5/3/2007)

Eight years ago, the field of anthropology was rocked by isotopic evidence that suggested one-third of the diet of early human ancestors consisted of grasses and sedges, or the tissue of animals that ate such plants. The news puzzled scientists, who were unable to reconcile the results with what they knew about the teeth of human ancestors who lived more than 2 million years ago. ...> Full Article

Australian Marsupials Challenge Gene Theory (5/3/2007)

Scientists studying the kangaroo genome have cast doubt on the credentials of a gene thought to be crucial to the process of inactivating one sex chromosome in women. ...> Full Article