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Li et al. systematically examined horizontal gene transfer in 218 high-quality genomes of diverse insects and found that they acquired 1,410 genes exhibiting diverse functions, including many not previously reported, via 741 distinct transfers from non-metazoan donors. Image credit: Li et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.06.014.

Insects Carry 1,410 Horizontally-Transferred Microbial Genes: Study

Jul 19, 2022 by News Staff

In new research, a team of scientists from Zhejiang University and Vanderbilt University examined horizontal gene transfer — an important evolutionary...

Boolani et al. suggest that energy and fatigue are unique traits that could be defined by distinct bacterial communities not driven by diet. Image credit: Darryl Leja, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health.

New Study Finds Genetic Link between Alzheimer’s Disease and Gastrointestinal Tract Disorders

Jul 18, 2022 by News Staff

Consistent with the concept of the gut-brain phenomenon, observational studies suggest a relationship between Alzheimer’s disease and gastrointestinal...

Scientists Sequence Genome of Red Deer Cave Human

Jul 14, 2022 by News Staff

Researchers have sequenced and analyzed the genome of a Late Pleistocene hominin from Red Deer Cave located in Southwest China, which was previously reported...

Model of Asgard viral infection mechanisms and protein similarity with other viruses: (a) genes identified in Asgard viruses involved in infection (i), replication (ii), transcription (iii) and translation (iv); Asgard viruses are shown as different colored hexagons, Asgard hosts as different colored circles, and host transcription machinery is labeled with ovals color coded by function (see legend); (b) distribution of 35 genes (lower x axis) among Asgard viruses (y axis); filled circles indicate annotated orthologues, while white circles indicate that an orthologue was not identified. Image credit: Rambo et al., doi: 10.1038/s41564-022-01150-8.

Mysterious Asgard Archaea-Infecting Viruses Discovered

Jun 30, 2022 by News Staff

Asgard archaea are globally distributed microorganisms related to eukaryotes — complex organisms including animals, plants, fungi, and amoeba. However,...

Bergström et al. provide insights into long-standing questions on the origin of dogs. Image credit: Jessica Rae Peto.

Dogs were Domesticated in Eastern Eurasia, Ancient DNA Study Suggests

Jun 29, 2022 by News Staff

The gray wolf (Canis lupus) was the first species to give rise to a domestic population, and they remained widespread throughout the latest Ice Age when...

The leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Image credit: Joseph C. Boone / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Scientists Decode Genomes of Leafy and Weedy Seadragons

Jun 28, 2022 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the University of Oregon and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has sequenced the genomes of two living seadragon...

Petrosino et al. corroborate the hypothesis that LINE elements might be active and functionally important in the central nervous system of highly intelligent organisms such as octopuses. Image credit: Albert Kok / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Study: Same ‘Jumping Genes’ are Active in Octopus and Human Brains

Jun 28, 2022 by News Staff

‘Jumping genes,’ also known as transposons or transposable elements, widely contribute to the evolution of genomes allowing genomic innovations. These...

Researchers Sequence Genome of Desert Locust

Jun 27, 2022 by News Staff

Scientists from USDA’s Agricultural Research Service have successfully produced the first high-quality genomic sequence for the desert locust (Schistocerca...

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) from the Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1845) illustrated by John Woodhouse Audubon.

Scientists Sequence Genome of 100,000-Year-Old Polar Bear

Jun 17, 2022 by News Staff

Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and brown bears (Ursus arctos) are sister species possessing distinct physiological and behavioral adaptations that evolved...

Ancyromonas sigmoides, an understudied microbe that holds enormous promise for investigations into the origin of eukaryotes. Image credit: Naoji Yubuki.

Chromatin First Evolved in Ancient Microbes 1-2 Billion Years Ago, New Research Suggests

Jun 13, 2022 by News Staff

Chromatin is the ensemble of genomic DNA and a large number of proteins. Despite its fundamental role in biology of eukaryotic cells, scientists lack a...

Fernanda, the only known living Fernandina giant tortoise (Chelonoidis phantasticus), now lives at the Galápagos National Park’s Giant Tortoise Breeding Center on Santa Cruz Island. Image credit: Galápagos Conservancy.

Fernandina Island Tortoise Is Not Extinct, New Study Confirms

Jun 10, 2022 by News Staff

The status of the Fernandina Island Galapagos giant tortoise (Chelonoidis phantasticus) has been a mystery, with the species known from a single specimen...

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.

Study: Height May Be Unrecognized Risk Factor for Several Common Conditions in Adults

Jun 6, 2022 by News Staff

An international team of researchers has found genetic evidence supporting associations between height and 127 clinical traits. Raghavan et al. conclude...

Researchers Sequence First Pompeian Human Genome

May 27, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Scientists from the United States, Italy, Denmark and Brazil have successfully sequenced the genome of a 35-40 year-old male who died in the ancient city...

Oat (Avena sativa). Image credit: Hans Braxmeier.

Researchers Sequence Genome of Oat

May 18, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Cultivated oat (Avena sativa) is an allohexaploid crop thought to have been domesticated more than 3,000 years ago while growing as a weed in wheat, emmer...

With over a million species described, insects are a treasure trove of diversity and represent boundless possibilities as research tools for answering fundamental questions in biology. Current approaches for insect gene editing require microinjection of materials into early embryos, which is highly challenging in most species. Shirai et al. established and optimized a simple and efficient method for insect gene editing by adult injection, which can be readily implemented in any laboratory and directly applied to a great diversity of non-model insect species. Image credit: Shirai et al., doi: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2022.100215.

Scientists Develop New CRISPR Method for Insect Gene Editing

May 18, 2022 by News Staff

Current approaches for insect gene editing require microinjection of materials into early embryos. This severely limits the application of gene editing...

Wells et al performed genome-wide association studies for two self-reported hearing phenotypes, using more than 250,000 UK Biobank volunteers aged between 40 and 69 years. Image credit: Pexels.

Researchers Identify Ten New Hearing Loss Genes

May 16, 2022 by News Staff

A multinational team of scientists has performed a genome-wide association meta-analysis of clinically diagnosed and self-reported hearing impairment on...

Australian Dingoes are Early Offshoot of Modern Breed Dogs, Study Shows

Apr 25, 2022 by News Staff

Scientists have sequenced the genome of a desert dingo (Canis dingo) from a remote region of South Australia and compared it with those of five breeds...

Mother Nature Prefers Symmetry and Simplicity, Researchers Say

Apr 6, 2022 by News Staff

Biological structures frequently exhibit modularity and symmetry, but the origin of such trends is not well understood. It can be tempting to assume —...

Complete Human Genome Sequenced for First Time

Apr 1, 2022 by News Staff

Twenty years after scientists from the Human Genome Project produced the first draft human genome sequence, the Telomere to Telomere (T2T) Consortium has...