Genetics News

Scientists Improve Evolutionary Tree of Life for Archaea

According to Williams et al, the earliest metabolisms of the Archaea were based on the anaerobic reduction of carbon dioxide, and likely evolved during the earliest period of Earth’s evolutionary history. This is an artist’s impression of an Archean landscape. Image credit: Tim Bertelink / CC BY-SA 4.0.
May 28, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international group of researchers from UK, France, Hungary and Sweden has provided new insights into the origins of the Archaea, the group of simple cellular organisms that are the ancestors of all complex life. According to Williams et al, the earliest metabolisms of the Archaea were based on the anaerobic reduction of carbon dioxide, and likely evolved during the earliest period of Earth’s evolutionary history. This is an artist’s impression...

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This digitally-colorized scanning electron microscopic image depicts Enterococcus faecalis. Image credit: Pete Wardell / CDC.

First Enterococci Appeared on Earth during Ordovician Period, Says Study

May 11, 2017 by News Staff

According to a new study published today in the journal Cell, the enterococci — gram-positive aerobic bacteria and a leading cause of hospital-acquired...

Stages of liver disease. Image credit: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Researchers Identify Liver Fibrosis-Causing Protein

May 4, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of scientists has identified a long-sought protein that causes liver fibrosis (scarring), paving the way for new treatments. The...

Tea Tree Genome Sequenced

May 2, 2017 by News Staff

A multi-institutional team of researchers from China and the United States has sequenced the genome of the cultivated tea tree (Camellia sinensis). A tea...

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...

The thickness of the cerebral cortex is correlated with the epigenetic profile of immune-related genes. Image credit: University of Basel.

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...

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