Genetics & Molecular Biology

BubR1: New Clues For Down Syndrome?

Scientists have discovered a key mechanism involved in the correct separation of chromosomes during the formation of eggs and sperm. The research shows that BubR1- a gene recently shown to affect cell division – maintains the cohesion of paired chromosomes ...

Article - Catarina Amorim - Aug 17 2007 - 9:42am

ORMDL3 Could Be The Gene That Causes Asthma In Children

A team has examined over 300,000 genetic markers in thousands of asthmatic children and compared their data with those of healthy controls. The newly found gene, ORMDL3, is a promising object of research: it could help to improve the prevention and diagnos ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 21 2007 - 11:06pm

What To Blame For Apert Syndrome? Your Testicles

The organs that produce sperm also may make it easier for mutations to pass to offspring, USC biologists say. The testes in humans may act as mutation multipliers that raise the odds of passing improved DNA to offspring – but that can also backfire by incr ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 28 2007 - 6:29pm

Adipose Is The 'Skinny Gene' In People, Says Researchers

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that a single gene might control whether or not individuals tend to pile on fat, a discovery that may point to new ways to fight obesity and diabetes. “From worms to mammals, this gene controls fat f ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 4 2007 - 2:03pm

Like That Manly Smell? It May Be Your Genes

Androstenone is a derivative of testosterone that is a potent ingredient in male body odor. To some it smells like stale urine, others find it sweet and pleasant. Some can't smell it at all. Androstenone is used by some mammals to convey social and se ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 17 2007 - 1:58am

Evolution's Balancing Act

Evolution carries out an incredibly tricky balancing act: the genetic program of a species has to be resistant to small changes, yet also susceptible to the adaptive remodeling of natural selection. The human genome is so robust that over 6 billion variati ...

Article - Michael White - Sep 20 2007 - 12:05am

The 'Mommy Gene' In Women

Basic principles of biology rather than women’s newfound economic independence can explain why fewer of them are getting married and having children, and why the trend may only be temporary, says a Queen’s researcher. “Only in recent times have women acqui ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 21 2007 - 10:53am

The Semi-Elusive Fatalism Gene In Biologists

A review of Dr Lonnie W Aarssen's “Some Bold evolutionary predictions for mating in humans” Quite often papers are published which get slated for being “politically incorrect” I recently witnessed a rather interesting example of that. However when rea ...

Article - Sophia Siedlberg - Sep 25 2007 - 1:56pm

Omni-Present Tilapia Ideal For Genome Frequencing

Tilapia, a fish that originates from southern regions, has been introduced in over 100 countries. It is the second most commonly produced fish in aquaculture in the world after carp. 99% is produced and consumed in China. Raising tilapia is easy and inexpe ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 9 2007 - 1:40pm

Obesity Genetics

New evidence that genetics plays a key role in obesity is published today in the International Journal of Bioinformatics Research and Applications. The findings relate to the genetics of modern Pima Indians who have an unusually high rate of obesity but co ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 16 2007 - 3:03am