Genetics News

Ancient Mitochondrial DNA Sheds Light on Evolutionary History of Saber-Toothed Cats

Smilodon populator. Image credit: Rom-diz / CC BY-SA 3.0.
Oct 20, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of researchers has used advanced DNA sequencing methods to retrieve and analyze mitochondrial genome data from two lineages of saber-toothed cats, Smilodon and Homotherium. Published in the journal Current Biology, the results suggest that these iconic felids diverged from each other about 18 million years ago and shared a common ancestor with all living cat-like species about 20 million years ago. Smilodon populator. Image credit:...

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Scanning electron micrograph of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Image credit: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Researchers Uncover New Antibiotic Resistance Genes

Oct 16, 2017 by News Staff

Chalmers University of Technology Professor Erik Kristiansson and co-authors have identified over 70 new metallo-β-lactamase genes that make bacteria...

The Japanese sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus). Image credit: Qiang Xu.

Scientists Sequence Sea Cucumber Genome

Oct 13, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of researchers from Canada and China has sequenced the genome of the economically important species Apostichopus japonicus, commonly...

Fifteen moais of Ahu Tongariki. Image credit: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen / CC BY-SA 3.0.

DNA Study Finds No Evidence that Ancient Easter Islanders Intermixed with South Americans

Oct 13, 2017 by News Staff

A new study of ancient DNA appears to rule out the likelihood that inhabitants of Easter Island intermixed with Native South Americans prior to the arrival...

According to Hancock et al, the new genetic variant highlights the importance of genetically influenced regulation in brain on the risks of nicotine dependence, heavy smoking and consequent lung cancer. Image credit: Martin Buedenbender.

Study Identifies New Gene Variation Associated with Increased Risk of Nicotine Addiction

Oct 12, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

Europeans and European/African Americans with a variant of the DNA Methyltransferase 3 Beta (DNMT3B) gene have an increased risk of developing nicotine...

Durian (Durio zibethinus). Image credit: Amon Heijne / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Researchers Sequence Genome of Tropical Fruit Durian

Oct 10, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of researchers from Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia has sequenced the genome of durian (Durio zibethinus), a Southeast Asian tropical...

Reconstruction of a Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

Two Ancient DNA Studies Provide New Insights into Lives of Neanderthals and Paleolithic Humans

Oct 7, 2017 by News Staff

Two separate teams of researchers have used advanced DNA sequencing methods to analyze the 52,000-year-old remains of a Neanderthal woman from Vindija...

A pair of thylacines, a male and female, c. 1905. Image credit: Smithsonian Institutional Archives / E. J. Keller, National Zoological Park.

Ancient DNA Study Sheds New Light on History of Tasmanian Tigers

Sep 29, 2017 by News Staff

A new study led by University of Adelaide researcher Jeremy Austin traces the history of Tasmanian tiger (thylacine) populations over the last 30,000 years. A...

Researchers Sequence Guinea Yam Genome

Sep 25, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of scientists from the United Kingdom, Japan, and Germany has produced the first high-quality genomic sequence for the white Guinea...

Papua New Guinea was likely a stepping stone for human migration from Asia to Australia. Bergstroem et al performed genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism genotyping on 381 individuals from 85 language groups in Papua New Guinea and found a sharp divide originating 10,000 to 20,000 years ago between lowland and highland groups and a lack of non-New Guinean admixture in the latter. This photo shows drummers and dancers from each village on the beach of Port Moresby, the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. Image credit: Steve Jurvetson / CC BY 2.0.

New Study Reveals Remarkable Genetic Diversity among Papuan New Guinean Peoples

Sep 19, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of researchers led by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute has analyzed genome-wide data of 381 individuals from 85 language groups...

Mostafavi et al found a drop in some harmful genetic mutations in longer-lived people. Image credit: Darryl Leja, NHGRI / CC BY 2.0.

Natural Selection is Still Happening in Modern Human Populations, Major Genetic Study Finds

Sep 6, 2017 by News Staff

Genetic variants linked to Alzheimer’s disease and heavy smoking are less frequent in people with longer lifespans, suggesting that natural selection...

Migraines take a toll on around 1 billion people. This work by Baksa et al. indicates that individuals with certain gene variants in the CLOCK gene, which is involved in circadian rhythms, are at a higher risk of migraines when they are exposed to financial hardship. Image credit: Sasha Wolff / CC BY 2.0.

Study: Circadian Rhythm Gene Variants Increase Risk of Migraines from Financial Hardship

Sep 5, 2017 by Zvi Cramer

Researchers have shown that financial stress may cause more migraines in individuals with variants in the circadian rhythm gene CLOCK, suggesting that...

Ancient Greek by Albert Kretschmer in Costumes of All Nations, 1882.

Minoans and Mycenaeans Descended from Anatolian Migrants, Ancient DNA Study Suggests

Aug 4, 2017 by News Staff

Researchers have obtained and analyzed genome sequences from the ancient Minoans and Mycenaeans, who lived 3,000 to 5,000 years ago and were Europe’s...

The Grapes of Canaan, c. 1896-1902, by James Jacques Joseph Tissot. Image credit: Jewish Museum, New York.

Lebanese are Direct Descendants of Biblical Canaanites, Study Suggests

Jul 27, 2017 by News Staff

In the first study of its kind, a Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute-led team of researchers has uncovered the genetics of the ancient Canaanites and a firm...

Enigmatic Archaic Human Relative Interbred with Ancestors of Modern Africans, Study Suggests

Jul 24, 2017 by News Staff

A mysterious hominin species mated with the ancestors of modern-day Sub-Saharan Africans, according to an analysis of modern human genomes published this...

According to Professor Graur, the functional fraction within the human genome cannot exceed 25%, and is probably considerably lower.

Only 10-25% of Human Genome is Functional, New Estimate Says

Jul 19, 2017 by News Staff

In a paper published in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution, University of Houston Professor Dan Graur says that the functional portion of the human...

Common signs and symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus, the most common type of lupus. Image credit: Mikael Haggstrom.

Researchers Identify Potential Cause of Lupus

Jul 17, 2017 by News Staff

A group of researchers at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research has identified a protein called Blimp-1 as a likely primary cause of the adverse...

Gaudry et al demonstrate that members of various lineages (for example, cetaceans, horses, woolly mammoths, Steller’s sea cows) evolved extreme cold hardiness in the absence of UCP1-mediated thermogenesis. Image credit: Mauricio Anton.

Single Gene Linked to Evolutionary Rise of Multiple Mammalian Lineages

Jul 17, 2017 by News Staff

Ancient, independent inactivations of the ucp1 gene, which encodes the uncoupling protein 1, or UCP1 (essential for thermogenesis in brown fat), were a...

DNA is emerging as an excellent medium for storing data. Image credit: Shipman et al, doi: 10.1038/nature23017.

Researchers Replay Digital Movie Encoded in Bacterial DNA

Jul 13, 2017 by News Staff

For the first time, researchers have used the CRISPR-Cas microbial immune system to encode a primitive digital movie into — and then ‘play it back’...

Willems et al identified 16 genetic variants associated with maximal hand grip strength. Image credit: Skeeze.

Major Study Identifies Common Genetic Variants Associated with Muscle Strength

Jul 12, 2017 by News Staff

In a genome-wide association study, researchers from the University of Cambridge and elsewhere have identified 16 common genetic variants which influence...

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