Tag Archive for 'DNA'

Nebamun hunting in the marshes with his wife and daughter, part of a wall painting from the tomb-chapel of Nebamun, Thebes, New Kingdom, 1350 BC. Image credit: Werner Forman Archive / Bridgeman Images.

Ancient and Modern DNA Reveal How Cats Conquered World

Jun 21, 2017 by News Staff

According to a new analysis of modern and ancient cat DNA, today’s domestic cat is a descendant of both the Near Eastern and Egyptian populations of...

Ivana Buric et al analyze how the behavior of our genes is affected by different MBIs including mindfulness and yoga. Image credit: Nato Pereira.

Study: Meditation, Yoga and Related Practices Can ‘Reverse’ DNA Reactions

Jun 20, 2017 by News Staff

According to a study published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology, mind-body interventions such as mindfulness, yoga, Tai Chi, Qigong, relaxation response,...

Insomnia is one of the most common health problems. Image credit: Dan Fa.

Scientists Discover First Genes for Insomnia

Jun 12, 2017 by News Staff

Researchers from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and elsewhere have identified seven risk genes for insomnia. Insomnia is one of the most common health problems....

The extinct straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) is one of the many large mammals that the new study estimates would have occurred in northern Europe if modern humans had never existed. Image credit: Apotea / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Elephant Family Tree Needs a Rewrite

Jun 8, 2017 by News Staff

According to new research published in the journal eLife, the straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus), a species of giant elephant that lived...

The Humboldt’s flying squirrel (Glaucomys oregonensis), the third-known species of flying squirrel in North America and the 45th known species of flying squirrel in the world. Image credit: Nick Kerhoulas.

Cryptic New Species of Flying Squirrel Identified in North America

Jun 7, 2017 by News Staff

Scientists reporting in the Journal of Mammalogy on May 30 have identified a new species of flying squirrel living in the Pacific Coast region of North...

CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing can cause hundreds of unintended mutations. Image credit: Lisichik.

CRISPR-Cas9 Editing Can Cause Unexpected Mutations, Researchers Say

May 30, 2017 by News Staff

As CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing starts to move into clinical trials, a research team led by scientists at Columbia University Medical Center has found that...

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.

Scientists Improve Evolutionary Tree of Life for Archaea

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...

A study by Nora et al provides new insights into the rules governing human genome organization. Image credit: Nora et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.05.004.

New Study Expands Understanding of How DNA is Organized in Human Cells

May 22, 2017 by News Staff

After decades of research aiming to understand how DNA is organized in our cells, a team of researchers from the Gladstone Institutes, the Massachusetts...

The Acentria’s fritillary (Melitaea acentria), female, Mt. Hermon (1,800 m), Israel, May 7, 2016. Image credit: V. Lukhtanov, doi: 10.3897/CompCytogen.v11i2.12370.

New Species of Butterfly Discovered in Israel: Acentria’s Fritillary

May 13, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new species of the butterfly genus Melitaea has been discovered in northern Israel, according to a paper published in the journal Comparative Cytogenetics. The...

According to Janecka et al, the snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is actually three different subspecies. Image credit: Dingopup / The Cat Survival Trust / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Three Subspecies of Snow Leopard Revealed

May 12, 2017 by Natali Anderson

There are three different subspecies of the snow leopard (Panthera uncia), the world’s most elusive large big cat, according to a new study published...

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...

Transmission electron microscopy image of a candidate Klosneuvirus particle detected in the Klosterneuburg waste water treatment plant biomass. The particle exhibits features reminiscent of Mimiviridae including a faceted, multi-layered envelope surrounding a central core. Image credit: Schulz et al.

Klosneuviruses: New Group of Giant Viruses Discovered

Apr 11, 2017 by News Staff

Researchers from Austria and the United States have identified a group of giant viruses — Klosneuviruses — that harbor components of many other...

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...

The scientists have tried to extract ancient DNA from two stingless bees Trigonisca ameliae. This image shows Trigonisca ameliae bee in Colombian copal. Image credit: Dr David Penney / University of Manchester.

Social Bees Have Kept Symbiotic Gut Bacteria for 80M Years, New Study Says

Mar 30, 2017 by News Staff

About 80 million years ago (Cretaceous period), a group of bees began exhibiting social behavior. Today, their descendants — honey bees, stingless...

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...

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...

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...

A DNA coverage plot for Escherichia coli following 60 generations (96 h) of growth in the presence and absence of doxycycline: data in the presence (three inner annuli, ‘Dox’) and absence (three outer annuli, ‘No-Dox’) indicate potential genetic mechanisms supporting positive r (growth rate), K (carrying capacity) and resistance adaptation; a change in DNA detected in the sequencing protocol is shown in red (reduction) and blue (increase; and white is complete loss), respectively, with respect to no mean change (in grey); the inner ring (black) indicates genome position and three replicates for each treatment were sequenced; the white region marked dlp12 shows the deletion of prophage dlp12 only during doxycycline treatment; the outer text labels summarize the estimated frequencies of mutations common to all three replicate populations, indicating positive selection for the doxycycline efflux operon, acr, with the prophage deletion at even higher frequency. Image credit: C. Reding-Roman et al, doi: 10.1038/s41559-016-0050.

New Study Highlights How Antibiotics Can Stimulate Bacterial Reproduction

Feb 1, 2017 by News Staff

The growth of bacteria can be stimulated by antibiotics, according to a study published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. A DNA coverage plot...

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