Genetics News

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

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.
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 bacteria that infects a wide range of invertebrate species, like shrimps, spiders and parasitic worms. 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...

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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 —...

The work by M.E. Persson et al is the first genome-wide study presenting candidate genomic regions for dog sociability and inter-species communication. Image credit: Freddie10.

Genes That Turn Dogs into Friendly Pets Also Linked to Human Social Disorders

Oct 4, 2016 by Natali Anderson

A team of researchers at Linköping University in Sweden has identified two genomic regions and five candidate genes associated with dog’s human-directed...

Depiction of the Jarijari (Nyeri Nyeri) people near Merbein engaged in recreational activities, including a type of Aboriginal football, by William Blandowski & Gustav Mützel, 1857.

Unprecedented Genomic Study Shines Light on Ancestry of Indigenous Australians

Sep 22, 2016 by News Staff

The first comprehensive genomic study of Indigenous Australians has revealed that they are indeed the direct descendants of Australia’s earliest settlers...

Smoking leaves ‘footprint’ in DNA. Image credit: Pexels.

Study: Smoking Has Long-Lasting Impact on Human Genome

Sep 20, 2016 by News Staff

According to a new study published today in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, smoking leaves historical ‘footprint’ on the human genome...

The Montpellier snake (Malpolon monspessulanus), one of the snake species studied by the team. Image credit: Alexandre Roux / CC BY-SA 2.0.

New Research Sheds Light on Snake Vision

Sep 20, 2016 by News Staff

The first major study of visual pigment genes and lenses in snakes has found that the reptiles match their vision to their lifestyles. The Montpellier...

Reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata) in Samburu NP, Kenya. Image credit: Julian Fennessy / Giraffe Conservation Foundation.

Genetic Analysis Reveals Four Distinct Giraffe Species Instead of One

Sep 9, 2016 by News Staff

Giraffes actually are not one species, but four, according to a new study published in the journal Current Biology. Reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata)...

Researchers Sequence Genome of Zika Virus Reference Strain

Sep 7, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Researchers from Germany, French Polynesia and the United Kingdom have successfully sequenced and analyzed the genome of a World Health Organization reference...

Genomic location, organization and subexonic copy number variation of the MUC7 gene in the human reference genome: the gray bar indicates the chromosomal band where MUC7 resides; the zoomed-in version of the gene shows the two coding exons (thick blue bars), the UTR region at the 3’ and 5’ ends (thin blue bars) and intronic regions (blue line in-between exons). Start and end of the transcript are indicated by the numbers at each end. The different functional domains within the MUC7 protein are designated by different colors at the bottom of the panel. Image credit: D. Xu et al.

Study Provides New Insights into Evolution of Saliva in Primates

Aug 29, 2016 by News Staff

A new study in the journal Scientific Reports shows that adaptation isn’t just about creating new tools for survival, it’s also about tweaking the...

Brewing more flavorsome coffee could be as simple as chilling the coffee beans before grinding, say scientists. Image credit: Shixugang.

Scientists Identify Gene that Appears to Curb Coffee Consumption

Aug 26, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

According to an international team of researchers from Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, people with a variation in a particular gene tend...

Portrait of Anna McNeill Whistler by James Abbott McNeill Whistler, summer 1871.

Scientists Identify Several Genes Associated with Age-Related Conditions

Aug 24, 2016 by News Staff

In an animal study, an international team of researchers led by Medical Research Council (MRC) Harwell Institute scientist Dr. Steve Brown has uncovered...

The Cameroon scaly-tail (Zenkerella insignis) by Joseph Smit, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1898.

Zenkerella insignis: Scientists Analyze DNA of Enigmatic African Rodent

Aug 17, 2016 by Natali Anderson

For the first time, scientists have sequenced and analyzed the nuclear and mitochondrial DNA of the Cameroon scaly-tail (Zenkerella insignis), one of Africa’s...

Neanderthals consumed plants, too. Image credit: University of Utah via kued.org.

Schizophrenia Emerged after Homo sapiens Diverged from Neanderthals, Researchers Say

Aug 15, 2016 by News Staff

A team of scientists led by Dr. Ole Andreassen of the University of Oslo in Norway and the University of California, San Diego, has found evidence for...

Meiosis: dividing pollen mother cells. Image credit: Josef Reischig / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Researchers Identify Down Syndrome Gene

Aug 10, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of researchers from Singapore and the United Kingdom has identified an enzyme that regulates the production of sperm and egg cells...

Torvosaurus gurneyi. Image credit: © Sergey Krasovskiy.

Dinosaurs Had Bird-Like Color Vision, Gene Discovery Suggests

Aug 3, 2016 by News Staff

According to an international team of scientists led by Dr. Nicholas Mundy at the University of Cambridge, a gene for red color vision that originated...

The team identified 17 new genetic variations linked to depression. Image credit: Patrica J. Joslin.

Researchers Identify 17 Genetic Variations Associated with Depression

Aug 2, 2016 by News Staff

A team of researchers has identified 17 genetic variations associated with depression in individuals of European ancestry. The team identified 17 new genetic...

6,000-year-old plant remains in Yoram Cave; note the excellent dry preservation of reeds, seeds and pellets. Image credit: Martin Mascher et al.

Researchers Sequence Genome of Ancient Barley

Jul 18, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of scientists has obtained and analyzed the genome of five barley grains that date back to the Chalcolithic period, about 6,000 years...

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