Genetics & Molecular Biology

A Genetic Variation For Teen Tobacco Addiction?

Common genetic variations affecting nicotine receptors in the nervous system can significantly increase the chance that European Americans who begin smoking by age 17 will struggle with lifelong nicotine addiction, according to researchers at the Universit ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 12 2008 - 2:11pm

Further Exploration Into Genes And Personality

“If you want to be happy for the rest of your life you need to make an ugly woman your wife,” or “if your rent is late and you might have to litigate, don’t worry, be happy,” are a few of the ways some popular singers verbalize ways to stay happy. The role ...

Article - Audrey Amara - Jul 16 2008 - 5:07pm

The Genetics Of White Horses

The white horse has been an icon for dignity, purity and good guys across various human cultures all over the world but only now has an international team been able to identify the mutation that causes this fascinating trait. Their analysis shows that whit ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 20 2008 - 3:57pm

Does A 'Sleepless Gene' Mutation Control Sleep?

Sleep is regulated by two processes: circadian and homeostatic. Circadian regulation affects the timing of sleep, and the homeostatic mechanism affects the need for sleep. While scientists and physicians know what happens if you don't get six to eight ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 29 2008 - 6:58pm

Evolution: Forget Random Mutation- Variation Is The Real Issue

Part 1 on The Plausibility of Life Darwin is famous for convincingly arguing that natural selection can explain why living things have features that are well-matched to the environment they live in. In the popular consciousness, evolution is often thought ...

Article - Michael White - Aug 17 2008 - 10:13pm

More Neanderthal DNA Sequenced

A paper in Cell is reporting the sequence of a Neanderthal mitochondrial DNA genome. Mitochondrial DNA, which you inherit only from your mother, has long been among the most useful DNA regions for tracing your ancestry. In the Neanderthal mitochondrial gen ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Oct 23 2008 - 12:03am

LAMA5 Gene Variations Affect Obesity In Women Of African And European Descent, Says Study

A study of 228 women has revealed genetic variants responsible for body shape, according to research published in BMC Genetics. Based on work in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, the study identifies natural variation in the human LAMA5 gene as a key ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 10 2008 - 11:25pm

And the junk DNA train rolls on...

This appeared in my weekly automated journal search. I have ordered the paper as I can't find an online copy, but the abstract pretty much covers what the argument will be. Same old pre-1980s adaptationist idea presented as radically novel. Mallik, M. ...

Blog Post - T. Ryan Gregory - Oct 22 2008 - 11:08pm

Kudos on the placozoan genome!

Trichoplax adhaerens is a bizarre little animal with a decidedly simple morphology. (You can see some here). There has been some question as to the relationship between this critter and other animal groups, but mitochondrial sequences (Dellaporta et al. 2 ...

Blog Post - T. Ryan Gregory - Oct 22 2008 - 11:07pm

Trichoplax Adhaerens Genome Shows Simplest Animal Has Complex Metabolic Capabilities

A simple and primitive animal, Trichoplax adhaerens, appears to harbor a far more complex suite of capabilities than meets the eye. The findings, reported Nature, establish a group of organisms as a branching point of animal evolution and identify sets of ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 22 2008 - 10:57am