Many scientists believe the dog genome holds information that will benefit human health
...biologists-scientists expect that each distinctive trait has arisen from a small number of genes. Both of these features greatly ease scientists' ability to identify a gene or genes responsible for a specific trait. To identify the genes for a particular characteristic or disease man, scientists often foc...Domesticated tree crops may be the 'future of forestry'
...ws them to home in on the gene responsible for the trait - in the example above, a gene active in the veins...e, Meilan said Once a gene that controls a desired trait is identified, Meilan said, scientists could manipulate that gene's activity and, for example, produ...Evolution's mirror in a fish's spines
...s." According to Kingsley, hindlimb reduction is a trait that has evolved repeatedly in different animal gr...s, cross them and actually let the genetics of the trait guide you to the underlying events that have controlled the process," said Kingsley. The Stanford gr...Other highlights in the March 3 issue of JNCI
... factor-II (IGF-II) may be an inherited epigenetic trait that may predispose an individual to colorectal ca...the hypothesis that LOI of IGF-II is an epigenetic trait polymorphic in the population and suggest that LOI of IGF-II may play a role in colorectal cancer. ...Life in the universe takes orders from space
...nd specificity," said Pizzarello. So far, only one trait has been found to be similar, to some extent, between amino acids in meteorites and biopolymers, that of L-"handedness" (chirality). Because organic molecules can be asymmetric if they have different groups attached to a carbon atom, they can arrang...New study suggests brains of autistic children can be trained to recognize faces
...ism," said Schellenberg. "We are using autism as a trait and trying to do a genetic map that will help us to understand whether the deletions we see in autism are affecting genes and causing autism, or whether the genome in autism is unstable, and the deletions are a symptom of that instability."...Could memory performance and spatial learning be genetically based?
...s done with six chromosome X markers. Quantitative trait locus (QTL; the combined influences of numerous genes) analysis was performed using the cumulative distance traveled over the 24 trials as the index of acquisition performance (ACQTD). The percent of distance traveled on the probe trial was used as t...Rodents bred for alcohol preference live longer than rats bred for alcohol avoidance
...y that developing alcoholism is a very detrimental trait from an evolutionary point of view. Children born to parents who are alcoholics should have been less likely to survive and reproduce. Tribes in which many of the elders have developed alcoholism should have been less adept at raising children who ...Scientists identify molecular step that causes intoxication
... The research showed that the alcohol-resistance trait was due to slo-1 genes in neurons, as opposed to other cells such as muscle. Then, using standard electrophysiological techniques, the scientists determined that alcohol activates the BK potassium channel in the living animals, inhibiting neuronal a...Diversity: What people, grain sorghum have in common
...estock feed and for human consumption. Genes for a trait of major importance - drought resistance - will be the focus of the overall project which will take about four years, Mullet said....Social mothers appear to be better mothers
...ilk, an anthropology professor in UCLA College. "A trait can't really be determined to have an evolutionary advantage unless it has a positive impact on reproductive performance. Socializing and grooming are traits that help baboons pass along their genes." Along with evolutionary biologists from Duke and ...A sweet tooth may be a 'marker' for the genetic risk for developing alcoholism
...rious concentrations of the sugar solutions. This trait is much less controlled by environmental factors. People may regulate the amount of sweet foods they consume, but they usually have less concern about their hedonic reaction to various sweet tastes. Thus, this test better reflects the biological re...Ten-year study leads researchers to psoriasis genes
...elop the disease early on." Psoriasis is a complex trait -- a disorder linked to several genes and environmental factors. It comes in a variety of forms, including psoriatic arthritis, which causes additional arthritis-like symptoms. The condition can be severely disabling and afflicts up to 30 percent of ...Plants' circadian clocks tune into latitude to enhance fitness
...fied five chromosomal regions, called quantitative trait loci (QTL), which significantly contribute to either period length or phase or amplitude of the rhythms. Each of these QTL regions includes many genes, at least one of which contributes to the plant's circadian rhythm. McClung's group chose one candi...Adult alcoholism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are connected
...distinct phenotype, a way to measure an observable trait or behavior. Adult alcoholics with ADHD had a significantly higher daily and record intake of alcohol per month, an earlier age of onset of alcohol dependence, a higher frequency of thoughts about suicide, a greater number of court proceedings, and ...A test for sensitivity of normal tissue to radiation damage?
... tissue radiosensitivity should be considered as a trait dependent on the combined effect of variations in several genes, and that SNPs could constitute a substantial proportion of such genetic determinants. This means that normal tissue radiosensitivity could be predicted from individual genetic patterns...Baboon fathers really do care about their kids
...ests that such care "may be a very ancient evolved trait in the primate lineage," Alberts said. The study's co-authors include Duke biologist Jason Buchan, University of California at Los Angeles anthropologist Joan B. Silk and Princeton University biologist Jeanne Altmann. To identify true paternal care i...Young sea animals clone themselvescentury-old debate halted
...neously clone but Eaves and Palmer discovered this trait in three new echinoderm groups--sea cucumbers, sand dollars, and sea urchins--offering surprising new insight about chordate evolution. Larval cloning represents an intriguing new dimension to invertebrate life histories including the suggestion that...Geneticists show ripple effects of gene mutations
...t says this approach can be applied to any complex trait in any animal with a controlled genetic background. "In the end, we're trying to find how subtle variations in genes affect behavior, and how genetic networks change in response to the environment and during development and evolution," he said....Cross-species mating may be evolutionarily important and lead to rapid change, say IUB researchers
...h other, creating a much broader array of gene and trait combinations."...