So-Called Junk DNA – Genetic “Dark Matter” – Is Actually Critical to Survival in Mammals
Knocking out transposon promoter leads to pup death in mice; similar promoters found in many mammals. Nearly half of our DNA has been written off…
Genetics
Spectroradiometer “Ray Guns” Let Scientists Use Light Instead of DNA To Tell Plants Apart
In Star Trek, characters carry a little handheld device called a tricorder that they can point at objects to analyze and identify them. When the show’s…
Bacteria Evolved a Multitude of Defense Systems That Offer Strong Immunity for Protection Against Viruses
A new study led by a team of bioscientists from Durham University, UK, in collaboration with University of Liverpool, Northumbria University and New England Biolabs,…
Revisiting the Out of Africa Theory: New Narrative From Genetic Analysis and AI
Researchers from Estonia and Italy developed an innovative method by combining neural networks and statistics. Using this newly developed method, they refined the “Out of…
Alzheimer’s Disease and COVID-19 Share a Genetic Risk Factor
An anti-viral gene that impacts the risk of both Alzheimer’s disease and severe Covid-19 has been identified by a UCL-led research team. The researchers estimate…
Snakes Diversified Explosively After Mass Extinction Where Dinosaurs Were Wiped Out
Modern snakes evolved from ancestors that lived side by side with the dinosaurs and that likely fed mainly on insects and lizards. Then a miles-wide…
COVID-19 Case Estimations From SARS-CoV-2 Genome Mutations
A new study published in Nature Communications reconstructs regional incidence profiles of COVID-19, highlighting the effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) and different testing strategies. Daily…
Genetics and Skeletal Biology Debunks Popular Theory of Native American Origins
Latest scientific findings suggest the ancestral Native American population does not originate in Japan, as believed by many archaeologists. A widely accepted theory of Native…
Brain’s White Matter Integrity Disrupted in People With Alzheimer’s Gene Mutation
The structural integrity of the brain’s white matter as measured with an advanced MRI technique is lower in cognitively normal people who carry a genetic…
Discovery Points Toward the Next Revolution in Genome Editing Technology
New Programmable Gene Editing Proteins Found Outside of CRISPR Systems Researchers find RNA-guided enzymes are more diverse and widespread than previously believed. Within the last…
New Genomics Study Unlocks Secrets of the Past To Help Shape Future of Healthcare for Millions
Largest ever Arab genome study from Qatar Genome Research Consortium sheds lights on the population structure and genetic diversity of modern Arab and Middle Eastern…
Farmed Carnivores May Become Hidden “Disease Reservoirs” Posing Risk to Human Health
Carnivorous animals lack key genes needed to detect and respond to infection by pathogens, a study has found. Farming large numbers of carnivores, like mink,…
Wildlife Conservation on Ice: Frozen Zoos To Save Animals
In a south-eastern suburb in Melbourne, there’s a zoo. It has no visitors, and there are no animals anywhere inside it. Rather, the Australian Frozen Zoo…
Weird and Wonderful: Coral Symbionts Have a Genome Like No Other
The weird and wonderful genome of dinoflagellates looks nothing like other eukaryotic genomes. The genome of single-celled plankton, known as dinoflagellates, is organized in an…
Promising News for Weight Loss Drug Development: Scientists Discover 14 Genes That Cause Obesity
Findings could decouple overeating from harmful health effects. Promising news in the effort to develop drugs to treat obesity: University of Virginia scientists have identified…
Supercomputers Reveal the Secrets of How X Chromosomes Fold and Deactivate
Combining lab data with supercomputing power reveals role of RNA and chromosome structure in regulating gene expression. Using supercomputer-driven dynamic modeling based on experimental data,…
Experimental “Living Medicine” Created To Treat Drug-Resistant Infections
Experimental treatment dissolves antibiotic-resistant biofilms in mice. Researchers at the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and Pulmobiotics S.L have created the first ‘living medicine’ to treat antibiotic-resistant bacteria growing…
Researchers Discover Evidence of a Major Coronavirus Epidemic 20,000 Years Ago
Studying the genomes of modern humans from 26 worldwide populations, researchers discovered the genetic “footprint” of an ancient coronavirus outbreak. Studies like this one could help…