Genetic Archaeology News Archives Page 8

Researchers devise way to calculate rates of evolution (10/5/2007)

"Survival of the fittest" has popularly described evolution for more than a century, but a new study published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters provides further evidence that random genetic mutations over millions of years may also play a powerful role. ...> Full Article

Genetic differences in clover make one type toxic (10/4/2007)

Botanical "cloak and dagger" ...> Full Article

Census of protein architectures offers new view of history of life (10/4/2007)

The present can tell you a lot about the past, but you need to know where to look. A new study appearing this month in Genome Research reveals that protein architectures - the three-dimensional structures of specific regions within proteins - provide an extraordinary window on the history of life. ...> Full Article

In dogs, a shortcut to mapping disease genes (10/2/2007)

Genomic tool may accelerate studies of dog diseases, many of which also affect humans ...> Full Article

Three-way mating game of North American lizard found in distant European relative (10/2/2007)

An intricate three-way mating struggle first observed in a species of North American lizard has been discovered in a distant relative, the European common lizard. The two species are separated by 5,000 miles and 175 million years of evolution, yet they share behavioral and reproductive details right down to the gaudy colors of the males. ...> Full Article

Does The Victim Affect Snake Venom Composition? (10/1/2007)

A snake's intended prey might affect the type and evolution of toxins in their venom, research published in BMC Evolutionary Biology shows. ...> Full Article

Individual Differences Caused by Shuffled Chunks of DNA in the Human Genome (9/30/2007)

Researchers offer a new view of what causes the greatest genetic variability among individuals - suggesting that it is due less to single point mutations than to the presence of structural changes that cause extended segments of the human genome to be missing, rearranged or present in extra copies. ...> Full Article

Wasp genetics study suggests altruism evolved from maternal behavior (9/29/2007)

Researchers have used an innovative approach to reveal the molecular basis of altruistic behavior in wasps. The research team focused on the expression of behavior-related genes in Polistes metricus paper wasps, a species for which little genetic data was available when the study was begun. ...> Full Article

New study shows that big brothers reduce fertility (9/28/2007)

Researchers have shown that having an older brother can affect an individual's fertility. The research shows that people who have an older brother produce fewer children than those born after a sister. ...> Full Article

Hair untangles woolly mammoth puzzle (9/28/2007)

Researchers discovered that hair shafts provide an ideal source of ancient DNA -- a better source than bones and muscle for studying the genome sequences of extinct animals. Their research achievement includes the sequencing of entire mitochondrial genomes from 10 individual woolly mammoths. ...> Full Article

Male voice pitch predicts reproductive success in hunter-gatherers (9/27/2007)

Researchers studied tribe that lives much as humans did 200,000 years ago ...> Full Article

Primate Sperm Competition: Speed Matters (9/26/2007)

Researchers have found evidence that supports the theory that reproductive competition during the evolution of primate species has occurred at the level of sperm cell motility. ...> Full Article

Genome of parasitic worm cracked by scientists (9/25/2007)

New insight into the worm that causes the disease elephantiasis ...> Full Article

Computer Program Traces Ancestry Using Anonymous DNA Samples (9/24/2007)

A group of computer scientists, mathematicians, and biologists from around the world have developed a computer algorithm that can help trace the genetic ancestry of thousands of individuals in minutes, without any prior knowledge of their background. ...> Full Article

Gene Involved In Human Language Development Also Involved In Bat Echolocation (9/24/2007)

When it comes to the FOXP2 gene, humans have had most to shout about. Discoveries that mutations in this gene lead to speech defects and that the gene underwent changes around the time language evolved both implicate FOXP2 in the evolution of human language. ...> Full Article

New Research Sheds Light on Homo Floresiensis (9/21/2007)

An international team of researchers has completed a new study on Homo floresiensis, commonly referred to as the "hobbit," a 3-foot-tall, 18,000-year-old hominin skeleton, discovered four years ago on the Indonesian island of Flores. ...> Full Article

Love the one you're with: Species still have more viable offspring if they can choose their best mate, but there are ways around even poor substitutes (9/21/2007)

New research shows that when animals must choose less-than-preferred mates, females and males apparently have ways to compensate that increase the chance their offspring will survive. ...> Full Article

Study to evaluate inheritance of mitochondria for sexual selection (9/20/2007)

Researchers to investigate the effects of natural mitochondrial variation on sperm traits and sperm competitive ability. ...> Full Article

Why some species 'explosively' diversify (9/20/2007)

A new study of finger-sized Australian lizards sheds light on one of the most striking yet largely unexplained patterns in nature: Why is it that some groups of animals have evolved into hundreds, even thousands of species, while other groups include only a few? ...> Full Article

Is there really a 'mommy' gene in women? (9/19/2007)

Basic principles of biology rather than women's newfound economic independence can explain why fewer of them are getting married and having children, and why the trend may only be temporary. ...> Full Article

Prehistoric aesthetics explains snail biogeography puzzle (9/19/2007)

The answer to a mystery that long has puzzled biologists may lie in prehistoric Polynesians' penchant for pretty white shells. ...> Full Article

Researcher Sheds New Light on Hybrid Animals (9/19/2007)

What began more than 50 years ago as a way to improve fishing bait in California has led researchers to a significant finding about how animal species interact and that raises important questions about conservation. ...> Full Article

Scientists Help Lead Effort to 'Barcode' World's Species (9/18/2007)

Smithsonian researchers are among the leaders in a worldwide effort to revolutionize the way scientists identify species in the laboratory and in the field with a technique called DNA barcoding. Similar to the barcode that identifies an item at the grocery store, a DNA barcode is used to identify and distinguish biological species. ...> Full Article

Gene determines whether male body odor smells pleasant (9/18/2007)

To many, urine smells like urine and vanilla smells like vanilla. But androstenone, a derivative of testosterone that is a potent ingredient in male body odor, can smell like either - depending on your genes. While many people ascribe a foul odor to androstenone, usually that of stale urine or strong sweat, others find the scent sweet and pleasant. Still others cannot smell it at all. ...> Full Article

What Makes One Wasp Queen? Old Developmental Pathways Spawn Revolutionary Evolutionary Changes (9/17/2007)

When the larvae of the primitive social insect Polistes metricus, a paper wasp, slips into the quiet pupal stage, she doesn't know if she'll arise a worker or gyne (future queen) -- unless she consults with Arizona State University's social insect researcher Gro Amdam. ...> Full Article

Ancient whale fall found from Aņo Nuev Island (9/15/2007)

A fossilized whale skeleton excavated 20 years ago amid the stench and noise of a seabird and elephant seal rookery on California's Aņo Nuevo Island turns out to be the youngest example on the Pacific coast of a fossil whale fall and the first in California, according to paleontologists. ...> Full Article

Prehistoric Reptiles From Russia Possessed The First Modern Ears (9/14/2007)

The discovery of the first anatomically modern ear in a group of 260 million-year-old fossil reptiles significantly pushes back the date of the origin of an advanced sense of hearing, and suggests the first known adaptations to living in the dark. ...> Full Article

Researcher IDs binocular vision gene (9/14/2007)

In work that could lead to new treatments for sensory disorders in which people experience the strange phenomena of seeing better with one eye covered, MIT researchers report that they have identified the gene responsible for binocular vision. ...> Full Article

Researchers glimpse pathogen's bag of tricks (9/14/2007)

Genome sequence of plant pathogen reveals highly variable sites that may promote its virulence ...> Full Article

Chimpanzees Share Forbidden Fruit (9/13/2007)

They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and the same could be said for female chimpanzees. Researchers studying wild chimps in West Africa have discovered that males pinch desirable fruits from local farms and orchards as a means of attracting female mates. ...> Full Article