Genetic Archaeology News Archives Page 24

40,000-year-old skull shows both modern human and Neanderthal traits (4/3/2007)

Humans continued to evolve significantly long after they were established in Europe, and interbred with Neanderthals as they settled across the continent. ...> Full Article

Gene induces eyes in odd spots (4/3/2007)

A gene thought to play a relatively minor role in eye development is powerful enough on its own to initiate the formation of eyes in strange spots on a fruit fly's body, Indiana University Bloomington scientists have learned. ...> Full Article

'Selfish DNA' driving insecticide resistance (4/2/2007)

Transposable elements, sometimes called ‘selfish DNA’, can be responsible for insecticide resistance, according to scientists from the Universities of Exeter, Bath and Melbourne. Transposable elements (TEs) can ‘jump around’ the genome and cause mutations by inserting into the coding regions of genes and disrupting or altering, and in this case increasing, gene function. ...> Full Article

Biologists call for better choice of model organisms in 'evo-devo' (4/2/2007)

Research in evolutionary developmental biology, known as ‘evo-devo’, is being held back because the dominant model organisms used by scientists are unable to illustrate key questions about evolution, argue biologists in the latest issue of Nature Reviews Genetics. ...> Full Article

Genetic Chimeras May Be Loved More By Dad (4/2/2007)

Marmosets, small monkeys that live in the forests of Central and South America, are usually born as twins. Their early development is quite interesting. Through the exchange of embryonic stem cells in the womb, they become genetic “chimeras,” which means they carry genes of their brother or sister in their own tissues. ...> Full Article

Scientists Identify How Development of Different Species Uses Same Genes Differently (4/2/2007)

Biologists at New York University have identified how different species use common genes to control their early development and alter how these genes are used to accommodate their own features. ...> Full Article

Anthropologist Studies Evolution's Disgusting Side (4/1/2007)

Behind every wave of disgust that comes your way may be a biological imperative much greater than the urge to lose your lunch, according to a growing body of research by a UCLA anthropologist. ...> Full Article

Role of dinosaur demise in mammal rise challenged (3/31/2007)

Scientists have long thought that the mass extinction of the dinosaurs around 65 millions years ago opened the door for modern mammal species to proliferate. But an international team of scientists has created a mammoth record of evolutionary timing, showing that the origins and diversification of existing mammal species - including human ancestors - don’t synch with the demise of the dinosaurs. ...> Full Article

Maternal Beef Diet Could Impact Sperm Counts (3/30/2007)

A mother’s high beef consumption while pregnant was associated with lower sperm counts in her son, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Rochester. ...> Full Article

Could USA Presidential DNA Trail Reveal Middle-Eastern Origins? (3/30/2007)

University of Leicester study into ancestry of Thomas Jefferson shows rare class of DNA ...> Full Article

Man's Earliest Direct Ancestors Looked More Apelike Than Previously Believed (3/29/2007)

First Humans Retained Surprisingly Apelike Features, NYU Study Reveals ...> Full Article

Simulated populations used to probe gene mapping (3/28/2007)

Forward-time simulation proves practical for studying complex diseases ...> Full Article

Microfossils unravel Africa's climate history (3/27/2007)

Scientists from the NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research obtained for the first time a detailed temperature record for tropical central Africa over the past 25,000 years. ...> Full Article

No sex for 40 million years? No problem. (3/26/2007)

New research shows that tiny asexual creatures have managed to evolve into different species ...> Full Article

First Comprehensive Genetic Analysis of Invasive Marine Animal and its Parasites Sheds Light on Spread of Disease (3/26/2007)

A paper that authors are calling a "home run" study on the spread of disease is published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). ...> Full Article

Study Determines How People Recognize Family Members as Close Genetic Relatives (3/26/2007)

Fundamental theories in evolutionary biology have long proposed that biological kinship is the foundation of the family unit. It not only creates the sense of altruism that exists among genetically related family members, but also establishes boundaries regarding sexual relations within the nuclear family. Questions have persisted, however, regarding the means by which humans recognize family members – particularly siblings – as close genetic relatives. ...> Full Article

New link shown between genetics, climate change and population growth in sheep (3/26/2007)

Study investigates how genetically-controlled physical traits affect population dynamics ...> Full Article

Scientist Develops New Mathematical Model To Study Disease Genetics And Evolution (3/25/2007)

USC College computational biologist Peter Calabrese has developed a new model to simulate the evolution of so-called recombination hotspots in the genome. ...> Full Article

Global Warming Could be Reversing a Trend that Led to Bigger Human Brains (3/24/2007)

Early humans developed larger brains as they adapted to colder climates, according to University at Albany researchers. ...> Full Article

Australian Megafauna Brought to Extinction by Man (3/24/2007)

The mystery of what killed Australia's giant animals - the so-called 'megafauna' - during the Last Ice Age is one of the longest-running and most emotive debates in palaeontology. ...> Full Article

Burrowing and Digging Dinosaurs Found in Southwest Montana (3/23/2007)

A new dinosaur that dug burrows and cared for its young in dens has been found in southwest Montana. ...> Full Article

Fossils with Cranial deformations found in poor community of Peru (3/23/2007)

A team from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the University of Almería has completed its second part of the "Proyecto La Puntilla", an archaeological expedition to the Peruvian province of Nazca, where last year it discovered a new type of construction. The latest findings show that a new political power based on the exercise of violence emerged on the south coast of Peru two thousand years ago. There was a State in which an aristocracy, based in Cahuachi, exercised its dominion on other, poorer communities in the Nazca Valley. The team has also observed practices such as cranial deformation. ...> Full Article

Cultivation of Corn not as Long Ago as Initially Thought (3/22/2007)

An LSU researcher and a Mexican colleague have made a groundbreaking discovery about one of the world’s most important crops, corn. ...> Full Article

New Monkey Species Found in Uganda (3/21/2007)

The discovery of a new monkey species that’s found only in Uganda is being overshadowed by the imminent destruction of much of the animal’s habitat. ...> Full Article

Clouded Leopard found on Borneo and Sumatra Declared New Species (3/21/2007)

Scientists have discovered that the clouded leopard found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra is an entirely new species of cat. The secretive rainforest animal was originally thought to be the same species as the one found in mainland Southeast Asia. ...> Full Article

Jurassic crocodile found in Oregon (3/20/2007)

An ancient sea-going crocodile has surfaced from the rocks of Crook County in eastern Oregon. Really. ...> Full Article

New Bird Species Discovered In Idaho Sheds Light on Co-evolutionary Arms Race (3/19/2007)

One does not expect to discover a bird species new to science while wandering around the continental United States. Nor does one expect that such a species would provide much insight into how coevolutionary arms races promote speciation. On both fronts a paper to appear in The American Naturalist proves otherwise. ...> Full Article

Pig study forces rethink of Pacific colonisation (3/17/2007)

A survey of wild and domestic pigs has caused archaeologists to reconsider both the origins of the first Pacific colonists and the migration routes humans travelled to reach the remote Pacific. ...> Full Article

RNA enzyme structure offers a glimpse into the origins of life (3/17/2007)

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have determined the three-dimensional structure of an RNA enzyme, or "ribozyme," that carries out a fundamental reaction required to make new RNA molecules. Their results provide insight into what may have been the first self-replicating molecule to arise billions of years ago on the evolutionary path toward the emergence of life. ...> Full Article

Species Evolve Faster in Cold Climates (3/17/2007)

University of British Columbia researchers have discovered that contrary to common belief, species do not evolve faster in warmer climates. ...> Full Article