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Schematic of the analyses conducted to discover longevity associated variants (LAV), LAV with significant joint effect on extreme longevity (jLAV), and LAV with effects on extreme survival age (eSAV). The top panels include description of the four studies (SICS - Southern Italian Centenarian Study, LLFS - Long Life Family Study, LGP - Longevity Gene Project, NECS - New England Centenarian Study) and additional controls from the Illumina repository. Image credit: Sebastiani et al, doi: 10.1093/gerona/glx027.

Geneticists Identify New Extreme Longevity Variants

May 1, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of researchers from the United States and Italy has identified new genetic variants associated with extreme survival and reduced...

Representatives from each of the 23 clades of breeds. Breeds and clades are listed for each picture from left to right, top to bottom: (A) Akita/Asian spitz; (B) Shih tzu/Asian toy; (C) Icelandic sheepdog/Nordic spitz; (D) Miniature schnauzer/schnauzer; (E) Pomeranian/small spitz; (F) Brussels griffon/toy spitz; (G) Puli/Hungarian; (H) Standard poodle/poodle; (I) Chihuahua/American toy; (J) Rat terrier/American terrier; (K) Miniature pinscher/pinscher; (L) Irish terrier/terrier; (M) German shepherd dog/New World; (N) Saluki/Mediterranean; (O) Basset hound/scent hound; (P) American cocker spaniel/spaniel; (Q) Golden retriever/retriever; (R) German shorthaired pointer/pointer setter; (S) Briard/continental herder; (T) Shetland sheepdog/UK rural; (U) Rottweiler/drover; (V) Saint Bernard/alpine; (W) English mastiff/European mastiff. Image credit: Parker et al, doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.03.079.

DNA Study Sheds Light on Evolution of Dog Breeds

May 1, 2017 by News Staff

Genetic material from 161 modern breeds helped a team of researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes...

Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia. Image credit: Alex Demin / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Denisovan and Neanderthal DNA Uncovered in Caves without Skeletal Remains

Apr 28, 2017 by News Staff

New research led by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA) shows that Pleistocene cave sediments represent a rich source of ancient...

Scientists Find Link between Immune System, Memory and Structure of Brain

Apr 27, 2017 by News Staff

In two separate studies, researchers have demonstrated that both the structure of the brain and several memory functions are linked to immune-related genes. The...

Barley (Hordeum vulgare). Image credit: Kang B.C.H.

Researchers Sequence Barley Genome

Apr 27, 2017 by News Staff

The International Barley Genome Sequencing Consortium, which is led by Dr. Nils Stein of the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research,...

Red-eyed Nasonia vitripennis. Image credit: Li et al, doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-00990-3.

Scientists Use CRISPR-Cas9 to Create Red-Eyed Mutant Wasps

Apr 20, 2017 by News Staff

Genetic scientists from the University of California, Riverside, and the W.M. Keck Science Department of Claremont McKenna, Pitzer and Scripps Colleges,...

A variation in the human circadian clock gene CRY1 is associated with a familial form of delayed sleep phase disorder, providing genetic underpinnings for ‘night owls.’ Clock and Bmal1 are circadian activator proteins. Image credit: Patke et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.03.027.

Researchers Identify ‘Night Owl’ Gene Variant

Apr 11, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of scientists led by the Rockefeller University has discovered that a variant of the human gene CRY1 (cryptochrome circadian clock...

Gerstner et al found that a mutation in the gene FABP7 is associated with fragmented sleep in humans. Image credit: Wok & Apix.

‘Sleep Gene’ Identified: FABP7

Apr 7, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of scientists from the United States and Japan has seen how a particular gene, called the fatty acid binding protein 7 (FABP7), is...

A study by John Lindo et al reveals 10,000 years of genetic continuity in northwest North America. Image credit: Julie McMahon.

Ancient DNA Reveals Genetic Continuity between Early Holocene, Modern Populations in Northwest North America

Apr 5, 2017 by News Staff

According to a new analysis of nuclear DNA from ancient individuals, many of today’s indigenous peoples living in southern Alaska and coastal British...

Calculating an individual’s GPS requires information from a genome-wide association study that finds specific genetic variants linked to particular traits. Image credit: Alexas Fotos.

Genetic Researchers Predict Children’s Reading Ability from DNA

Mar 30, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of scientists from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Sweden has used a genetic scoring technique to predict reading performance...

This drawing shows several of the most important brain structures. Image credit: National Institute for Aging.

Researchers Identify Two Genes Responsible for Brain’s Aging

Mar 16, 2017 by News Staff

A duo of researchers at Columbia University has identified two genes (TMEM106B and GRN) that greatly impact normal brain aging, starting at around age...

El Sidron Neanderthals taste wild mushrooms, pine nuts and forest moss. Image credit: Abel Grau, CSIC Communication.

Neanderthals Used Plant-Based Painkillers, Ate Rhinoceros Meat, Mushrooms, Nuts, and Moss

Mar 9, 2017 by News Staff

An analysis of ancient DNA entrapped in Neanderthal dental calculus (calcified dental plaque) has revealed the complexity of Neanderthal behavior, including...

This is an artist’s rendition of a woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius). Image credit: Flying Puffin / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Wrangel Island Mammoths Experienced ‘Genomic Meltdown’ Just Prior to Extinction, Says New Study

Mar 3, 2017 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal PLoS Genetics, dwindling populations created a ‘mutational meltdown’ in the genomes of the last wooly...

According to Soderquest et al, T-bet plays an important role in coordinating the body’s immune responses. Image credit: Werbe Fabrik.

‘Molecular Switch’ that Causes Mucosal Autoimmune Diseases Discovered

Feb 21, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

According to an international team of researchers led by University College London and King’s College London, the discovery of a ‘molecular switch’...

Eirini Marouli et al report 83 height-associated coding variants with lower minor-allele frequencies and effects of up to 2 cm per allele, greater than ten times the average effect of common variants. Image credit: Popular Science Monthly, D. Appleton and Company, 1887.

Researchers Find New Genetic Variants that Influence Human Adult Height

Feb 1, 2017 by News Staff

Eighty-three height-associated genetic variants have been discovered in a large-scale study led by researchers from Queen Mary University of London, Montreal...

Roasted beans of Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica). Image credit: University of California, Davis.

Researchers Sequence Genome of Arabica Coffee

Jan 17, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of researchers led by University of California, Davis, geneticists has publicly released the first public genome sequence of Arabica...

The ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior) is one of Europe’s largest native deciduous trees. Image credit: Matthieu Sontag / CC-BY-SA.

Genome of Ash Tree Aids Fight against Ash Dieback Disease

Dec 27, 2016 by News Staff

The ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior) is one of Europe’s largest native deciduous trees. Image credit: Matthieu Sontag / CC-BY-SA. Ash trees (genus Fraxinus)...

The bony armor on the body of this gulf pipefish, raised in the lab of Prof. Cresko, is not yet well ossified and appears mostly transparent; bones are stained red; cartilage is stained blue. Image credit: Mark Currey.

Gulf Pipefish Genome Sequenced

Dec 26, 2016 by News Staff

A team of scientists from the University of Oregon and Texas A&M University has sequenced and explored the genome of the gulf pipefish (Syngnathus...

‘Junzao’ jujube in Xinjiang, China. Image credit: Xingang Li.

Researchers Sequence Genome of Dry Jujube

Dec 23, 2016 by News Staff

The high quality genome sequence of the dry jujube cultivar ‘Junzao,’ along with sequences from trees throughout its range, have illuminated the domestication...