Diatom genome reveals key role in biosphere's carbon cycle
... genetic confirmation of a hypothesis that diatoms evolved when a heterotroph, a single-cell microbe, engulfed what scientists say was likely a kind of red alga. The two became one organism, an arrangement called endosymbiosis, and swapped some genetic material to create a new hybrid genome. "This project ...A University of Utah study showing how lice evolved with the people they infested reveals that a now-e...ypes of head lice. One type is found worldwide and evolved on the ancestors of our species, Homo sapiens. The second type is found only in the Americas, evolve...Head lice reveal contact between modern and ancient humans
...of a single host. More likely, the New World louse evolved on an archaic form of humans and subsequently transferred to a modern version. The split between modern humans ( Homo sapiens ) and one of our archaic forerunners, Homo erectus , took place about 1.8 million years ago but is statistically consis...Biologists ID molecular block for social 'cheaters'
...for resources inside the collective should lead to evolved traits that allow individuals to "cheat" the collective, win more resources and reproduce faster than their more cooperative neighbors -- thus undermining the social collective. In new research, evolutionary biologists and geneticists at Rice Univers...Botulism bug says no to nitric oxide, provides key to molecule's role in human cell signaling
..."What we have ultimately shown is how this protein evolved from being part of a protective mechanism into a system that learned to use the toxin to benefit the organism." In human beings, nitric oxide binds to a receptor called soluble guanylyl cyclase to make cyclic GMP, a molecule that improves blood fl...Component of volcanic gas may have played a significant role in the origins of life on Earth
...n what is now western Australia. These most likely evolved from some simpler life forms because, like all modern life, cyanobacteria are highly sophisticated living organisms--with cell walls, complex metabolism, and DNA genes. The question of the origins of life is: what came before the stromatolites? R...New technique targets pesticide-resistant insects
...roved effective against key insect pests that have evolved resistance to pesticides used in many agricultural industries, including horticulture and field crops. Results of the research including details of scientific trials conducted in Australia, Spain and South Africa, are being presented today (Friday Oc...Zebrafish may offer researchers powerful new tool for studying innate immunity
... But, humans and other jawed vertebrates have also evolved more customized or adaptive immune systems, which use an arsenal of antibodies and T-cell receptors to fend off diverse pathogens and prevent repeat attacks. Dr. Litman and his colleagues are trying to tease out details about the evolutionary transi...International human genome sequencing consortium describes finished human genome sequence
...provide a window into understanding how our genome evolved and is still changing. The high proportion of segmental duplication in the human genome shows our genetic material has undergone rapid functional innovation and structural change during the last 40 million years, presumably contributing to unique cha...Insects implicated in the evolution of new human infectious diseases
...s. The researchers suspect that this new bacterium evolved recently from a well-known bacterium, Photorhabdus...tory. Evidence suggests that the plague could have evolved from a close insect-pathogenic ancestor as little as 1,500 years ago, an eye blink in evolutionary t...Emory study details dolphin brain evolution for the first time
...d helps to provide some answers to how the species evolved in relation to humans. The study, which will appear in the December issue of The Anatomical Record, was done by Emory psychologist Lori Marino, a faculty member in the university's Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology Program, and her colleagues Dani...Humans and dolphins: If brain size is a measure, we're not that different
...r the past 47 million years, and how these species evolved in relation to humans. The results of their research, published on-line this week in the journal The Anatomical Record, show that, in terms of brain size, humans and dolphins aren't that different. Lead scientist on the National Science Foundation ...NSF gives 'teeth' to biomaterials research
...ances in lives. Dentistry is one business that has evolved through such relationships. "Even though most people have dental implants, veneers and crowns, they remain largely unaware of the sophistication that goes into making them and getting them to consumers," said Sarit Bhaduri, the George Bishop III Chai...Darwin's greatest challenge tackled: the mystery of eye evolution
...that it was "absurd" to propose that the human eye evolved through spontaneous mutation and natural selection. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) have now tackled Darwin's major challenge in an evolutionary study published this week in the journal Science. They have elucidated the...Gut microbes can open gates in fat cells
...human gut, and this vast community of microbes has evolved ways of manipulating our biology to benefit themselves and us." In fact, Gordon prefers to think of the gut microbiota as one of the body's organs, one exquisitely attuned to our physiological needs. "Over their millions of years of coevolution with...Structure of new DNA enzyme family member found
...he riboside kinase family that are thought to have evolved from a common protein ancestor. Writing in a recen...lots of roles in the cell, he says. Eventually, it evolved and diverged into a group of different proteins, each of which could focus on a specialized task. Ea...Crucial evolutionary link points to origins of modern cells
... "Buried in the NPC is a fossil indicating what it evolved from," says Rout, assistant professor and head of ...waste removal and protein synthesis, and a nucleus evolved between 2 and 3 billion years ago. One hypothesis regarding the evolution of eukaryotic cells ...High-predator environment has unexpected impact on aging in fish
...ld theories of aging fail to predict how aging has evolved in nature. The research findings of David Reznick, a professor of biology at UCR, were published in an article titled "Effects of Extrinsic Mortality on the Evolution of Senescence in Guppies" in the Oct. 28 issue of Nature. Co-authors included U...In a tiny squid, bacterial toxin governs organ development
...al context that has developed as the two organisms evolved together. "We don't understand if beneficial associations or pathogenic associations result from the same language," McFall-Ngai notes. "The surprise of this study is that the molecules used to signal development of the organ in the ...UCLA scientists uncork fountain of youth for HIV-fighting cells
...-old person." Most scientists agree that telomeres evolved to avert the rampant cell growth that often leads to cancer. Yet many cancers continue growing because they undergo genetic changes and start to produce telomerase, which regenerates their cells' telomeres. Effros and first author Mirabelle Dagara...