Genetic Archaeology News Archives Page 9

Massive Reanalysis Of Genome Data Solves Case Of The Lethal Genes (10/20/2007)

It is better to be looked over than overlooked, Mae West supposedly said. These are words of wisdom for genome data-miners of today. Data that goes unnoticed, despite its widespread availability, can reveal extraordinary insights to the discerning eye. ...> Full Article

Researchers caution against genetic ancestry testing (10/20/2007)

For many Americans, the potential to track one's DNA to a specific country, region or tribe with a take-home kit is highly alluring. But while the popularity of genetic ancestry testing is rising - particularly among African Americans - the technology is flawed and could spawn unwelcome societal consequences, according to researchers from several institutions nationwide. ...> Full Article

Researcher discovers binocular vision gene (10/19/2007)

A team of researchers have identified an important gene responsible for binocular vision. ...> Full Article

New Resequencing Technology Accelerates Discovery Of Subtle DNA Variations (10/19/2007)

A new technology will allow researchers to more easily discover subtle and overlooked genetic variations that may have serious consequences for health and disease. ...> Full Article

Scientists spy enzyme that makes us unique (10/18/2007)

Have you ever wondered why you inherited your mother's smile but not your father's height? Researchers are one step closer to unravelling how nature combines both maternal and paternal DNA to create genetically unique offspring. ...> Full Article

Female Chromosome Confirmed A Prime Driver Of Speciation (10/17/2007)

Researchers believe they have just confirmed a controversial theory of evolution. The X chromosome is a strikingly powerful force in the origin of new species. ...> Full Article

Earliest Evolution of Vision Genes Discovered (10/17/2007)

'Opsin' genes found in aquatic relatives of corals, jellyfish, sea anemones ...> Full Article

Combining new gene chips with fast sequencing technology brings universal sequence a step closer (10/17/2007)

A new technique that combines gene chip technology with the latest generation of gene sequencing machines to allow fast and accurate sequencing of selected parts of the genome has been developed. ...> Full Article

Inconsistencies With Neanderthal Genomic DNA Sequences (10/15/2007)

Were Neanderthals direct ancestors of contemporary humans or an evolutionary side branch that eventually died out? ...> Full Article

The benefits of 80 million years without sex (10/13/2007)

Scientists have discovered how a microscopic organism has benefited from nearly 80 million years without sex. ...> Full Article

The difference between fish and humans (10/13/2007)

Scientists answer century old developmental question ...> Full Article

Scientists Sequence Genome of Soil-Dwelling Green Alga (10/12/2007)

Results have implications for understanding early evolutionary events ...> Full Article

Spread Of Endogenous Retrovirus K Is Similar In The DNA Of Humans And Rhesus Monkeys (10/11/2007)

According to paleontologic and molecular studies, the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) is the closer relative to the humans (Homo sapiens) and that both lineages had a common ancestor at 5 to 7 million years ago. ...> Full Article

Environmental Setting of Human Migrations in the Circum-Pacific Region (10/11/2007)

A new study adds insight into the migration of anatomically modern humans out of Africa and into Asia less than 100,000 years before present (BP). ...> Full Article

A gene divided reveals details of natural selection (10/11/2007)

In a molecular tour de force, researchers have provided an exquisitely detailed picture of natural selection as it occurs at the genetic level. ...> Full Article

Plant viruses from past provide ecological clues (10/10/2007)

Taking the medical history of a grassland may seem a bit esoteric – after all, how sick can grass be? However, scientists have discovered plant viruses from as early as 1917 containing information crucial not only for plant scientists, but for those in ecology, human health and bioterrorism. ...> Full Article

Synchrotron Light to Reveal How Early Homo sapiens and Neanderthals Grew Up (10/9/2007)

An team of researchers is working together in Grenoble (France) to study the teeth of some famous fossil children, which will reveal if different species of humans experienced similar timings of maturation and reproduction. ...> Full Article

Which Came First, the Chicken Genome or the Egg Genome? (10/9/2007)

Researchers have answered a similarly vexing (and far more relevant) genomic question: Which of the thousands of long stretches of repeated DNA in the human genome came first? And which are the duplicates? ...> Full Article

DNA sequencer first of its kind in Southern Hemisphere (10/8/2007)

A next-generation DNA sequencer now installed in Australian will enable scientists to analyze DNA 100 times faster than previously. ...> Full Article

Evolution Transforms 'Junk' DNA into Genetic Machinery (10/6/2007)

Evolution has mastered the art of turning trash to treasure - though, for scientists, witnessing the transformation can require a bit of patience. In new genetic research, scientists have traced the 170 million-year evolution of a piece of "junk" DNA to its modern incarnation as an important regulator of energy balance in mammals. ...> Full Article

Living fossils have hot sex (10/5/2007)

Primitive Plants Use Heat and Odor to Woo Pollinating Insects ...> Full Article

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