Genetics News

Inuits Inherited Cold Adaptation Genes from Denisovan-Related Species

Denisovans were probably dark-skinned, unlike the pale Neandertals. The picture shows a Neanderthal man. Image credit: Mauro Cutrona.
Dec 22, 2016 by News Staff

In the Arctic, the Inuits have adapted to cold and a seafood diet. After the first genomic analysis of Greenlandic Inuits, a region in the genome containing two genes (TBX15 and WARS2) has now been scrutinized by researchers. Denisovans were probably dark-skinned, unlike the pale Neandertals. Image credit: Mauro Cutrona. Dr. Fernando Racimo of the New York Genome Center and his colleagues have now followed up on that study to trace back the origins...

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The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus): a female lynx with two cubs. Image credit: Centre for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology.

Researchers Sequence Genome of Iberian Lynx

Dec 15, 2016 by News Staff

A team of researchers in Spain has successfully sequenced and analyzed the genome of the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), the world’s most endangered feline...

This transmission electron micrograph depicts a number of variola virions. Image credit: Fred Murphy & Sylvia Whitfield / CDC.

New Genetic Research Rewrites Evolutionary History of Smallpox

Dec 8, 2016 by News Staff

New research suggests that smallpox may not be an ancient disease but a much more modern killer that went on to become the first human disease eradicated...

As computer models predicted, genetically modified plants are better able to make use of the limited sunlight available when their leaves go into the shade. Image credit: Julie McMahon.

New Biotechnology Increases Crop Yield by 20%

Dec 1, 2016 by Marcus Nield

Scientists from the University of Illinois have boosted crop yields in a revolutionary procedure that genetically enhances photosynthesis. The UN claims...

Super-resolution microscopy of GapmeR co-localization with SNX5 protein -- a member of the sorting nexin family of proteins -- in human T-cells. Image credit: Fazil, M. H. U. T. et al, doi: 10.1038/srep37721.

Researchers Develop New Method for Silencing Specific Genes in Human T-Cells

Nov 30, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of researchers led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, has developed a novel technique for gene silencing in human T-lymphocytes...

A 5,310-year-old maize cob from Tehuacan, Mexico. Image credit: Bruce Smith.

Ancient DNA Provides New Insights into Early Stages of Maize Domestication

Nov 23, 2016 by News Staff

According to an international team of scientists who have sequenced the genome of a 5,310-year-old maize cob from the Tehuacan Valley, the maize (Zea mays)...

Ginkgo biloba. Image credit: Darkone / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Researchers Decode Genome of Ginkgo biloba

Nov 22, 2016 by News Staff

A team of scientists in China has sequenced the genome of Ginkgo biloba, the oldest living tree species. Ginkgo biloba. Image credit: Darkone / CC BY-SA...

Mouse song system anatomy and syllable types: (A) proposed anatomy of the rudimentary mouse forebrain vocal communication circuit; (B) comparison with human; (C) comparison with songbird; (D) sonograms of examples syllables of the four syllable categories quantified from a C57 male mouse USV song, labeled according to pitch jumps. Anatomical abbreviations: ADSt - anterior dorsal striatum; Amb - nucleus ambiguous; ASt - anterior striatum; aT - anterior thalamus; Av - nucleus avalanche; HVC - a letter-based name; LArea X - lateral Area X; LMO - lateral mesopallium oval nucleus; LMAN - lateral magnocellular nucleus of the nidopallium; LMC - laryngeal motor cortex; LSC - laryngeal somatosensory cortex; M1 - primary motor cortex; M2 - secondary motor cortex; NIf - interfacial nucleus of the nidopallium; PAG - periaqueductal gray; RA - robust nucleus of the arcopallium; T - thalamus; VL - ventral lateral nucleus of the thalamus; XIIts - 12th vocal motor nucleus, tracheosyringeal part. Image credit: Jonathan Chabout et al, doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00197.

Study: Gene Implicated in Human Language Affects Vocal Communication in Mice

Nov 18, 2016 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, ultrasonic vocal communication in adult mice is affected by the...

Trypanosoma cruzi, a parasite of the order Kinetoplastida. Image credit: Myron Schultz / CDC.

Scientists Demonstrate that Diets of Organisms Can Affect Their DNA

Nov 17, 2016 by News Staff

In a study on eukaryotic and bacterial parasites, a duo of researchers at the University of Oxford has detected differences in DNA sequences that could...

Reconstruction of a Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

Natural Selection Removed Many Neanderthal Genes from Human Genome, Scientists Say

Nov 11, 2016 by News Staff

According to a team of researchers at the University of California, Davis, only a very small percentage of Neanderthal DNA is present in the genomes of...

Amur leopard cub at Tallinn Zoo, Estonia. Image credit: Sini Merikallio / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Amur Leopard Genome Sequence Completed

Nov 3, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of researchers has sequenced the complete genome of the Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis), one of the most critically endangered...

Structure of the human mitochondrial genome. Image credit: Shanel / CC BY-SA 3.0.

New Study Confirms Genetic Link between Autism Spectrum Disorder and mtDNA

Nov 3, 2016 by News Staff

A new study published in the journal PLoS Genetics has confirmed a genetic link between mitochondrial DNA, which is passed on from the mother, and some...

Nicola Barban et al identified ten new areas of the DNA sequence that are related with the age at first birth and the number of children ever born. Image credit: Vania Raposo.

Ten New Genetic Regions Linked to Human Reproductive Behavior

Nov 1, 2016 by News Staff

A large genome-wide association study of more than 560,000 people has identified 10 new genetic regions associated with the number of children we have...

Higgs Bison: Mysterious Hybrid of Bison and Cattle Hidden in Ice Age Cave Art

Oct 18, 2016 by News Staff

A study led by University of Adelaide researcher Julien Soubrier has revealed that prehistoric European cave artists recorded a previously unknown hybrid...

Jonathan J. Lyons et al identified a genetic explanation for a syndrome characterized by multiple frustrating and difficult-to-treat symptoms. Image credit: Pheee.

Research Sheds Light on Genetic Cause of Frustrating Syndrome

Oct 18, 2016 by News Staff

The genetic cause of a syndrome characterized by multiple frustrating and difficult-to-treat symptoms, including dizziness and lightheadedness, skin flushing...

Electron microphotograph shows two Wolbachia cells that have infected a Nasonia wasp. The one to the left is infected with the WO phage, pointed out by the black arrowheads. The one to the right is uninfected. The large dark patch is bacteria DNA that has been degraded by the phage. The image also shows the multiple wasp membranes wrapped around the Wolbachia that the phage must penetrate both to enter and escape from the bacteria. Image credit: Bordenstein Lab, Vanderbilt University.

Biologists Find DNA of Black Widow Spider Toxin in Genome of Bacteriophage

Oct 13, 2016 by News Staff

Biologists at Vanderbilt University have discovered DNA of the black widow spider toxin in the genome of a virus that attacks Wolbachia, a type of symbiotic...

UV photograph of a hand with vitiligo. Image credit: Chip Bobbert / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Scientists Discover 23 New ‘Risk Genes’ for Vitiligo

Oct 11, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Twenty-three new genes involved in risk for autoimmune vitiligo have been identified by an international group of scientists led by the University of Colorado...

Pie charts show the proportion of chromosomes within different populations worldwide that carry a non-working copy of the FLG gene, a primary risk factor for eczema. Even in East Asia, where the rates are high, the scientists found no evidence that preserving this genetic mutation has an evolutionary benefit to humans. Image credit: Muthukrishnan Eaaswarkhanth et al.

Genetic Variant Associated with Eczema is Evolutionary Artifact, Researchers Say

Oct 7, 2016 by News Staff

Pie charts show the proportion of chromosomes within different populations worldwide that carry a non-working copy of the FLG gene, a primary risk factor...

Philippine tarsiers (Tarsius syrichta). Image credit: JT Lim Majuro / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Scientists Sequence Tarsier Genome

Oct 6, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of researchers from the United States and Germany today reports having sequenced and annotated the genome of the Philippine tarsier....

An anatomical illustration from Sobotta's Human Anatomy, 1908, shows the structure of a human brain. Image credit: Dr Johannes Sobotta.

Researchers Identify New Gene Families Associated with Bigger Brains

Oct 6, 2016 by News Staff

A group of researchers in the United Kingdom has identified a set of gene families whose sizes are positively associated with an expanded neocortex —...

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