Experimental domestication of foxes yields clues to cognitive evolution
...social intelligence in animals are correlated with genetically selected "tame" behavior--for example, fearlessness and non-aggression toward humans. Understanding how intelligence evolved in humans and other animals remains one of the central evolutionary questions yet to be answered by behavioral scientists. Of...When does a mole become a melanoma?
...ctoral fellow Dr. Elizabeth Patton, and colleagues genetically engineered zebrafish to make the mutated form of human BRAF. The mutant fish developed black-pigmented moles on their skin, but none developed melanoma. When the fish were also made to be deficient for a gene called p53, which suppresses tumor growth...UCSD discovery may help extend life of natural pesticide
...bacteria and widely used by organic farmers and in genetically engineered crops to ward off insect pests. Their findings should facilitate the design and use of Bt toxins to prevent insects, which the researchers believe also possess the molecule, from developing resistance to Bt, extending the life of this natu...HHMI professor, 138 undergraduates identify essential genes in eye formation
...jee's flies is the presence of flippase, an enzyme genetically engineered into the flies that is expressed only in the eye. Through a series of five crosses or matings of successive generations of flies, the students created flies with homozygous lethal mutations in the eye, independently marked by eye color. T...Study shows naturally occurring proteins protect against rapid tumor growth
...sues throughout the body. The authors created mice genetically deleted in each of these proteins to help ascertain their normal function in tumor growth. Their results showed when any one of these inhibitors was removed from the mice, tumors grew at a rate two to three times faster when compared with normal mice...Diabetes' link to obesity broken in mice
...on University School of Medicine in St. Louis used genetically modified mice to uncover a potentially important link between diabetes and obesity. By genetically altering production of a factor found in skeletal muscle, scientists produced mice that can't get fa...Intervention cuts nerve damage, boosts life span
...emale flies and 11 percent in males as compared to genetically identical flies not expressing hUCP2, they report. That life span extension traced back to an increase in mitochrondrial uncoupling in the neuron-rich flies' heads, which led to a decline in ROS production and oxidative damage and an increased resist...Embryonic stem cells treated with growth factor reverse hemophilia in mice
...National Academy of Sciences today (Feb. 15). The genetically altered mice lack the clotting substance factor IX, which in humans results in the hereditary bleeding disorder known as hemophilia B. This disease, much less common than hemophilia A, affects roughly one of every 35,000 people, primarily males. Alt...New DNA studies verify existence of three right whale species
...he North Pacific right whale has been confirmed as genetically distinct from both the North Atlantic and Southern right whale, a designation with important implications for conservation efforts. "In 2001, we compared mitochondrial DNA samples from individual whales from different ocean basins and found that the...American Chemical Society meeting March 13-17 features wide variety of new research
...ium. Other highlights include: Antibiotics from genetically engineered bacteria that may help solve the growing drug-resistance problem Discovery of a gene for Type I diabetes Examining labels on food and beverage containers: do they tell the whole story? New wood preservatives for the home that discourage...Stockpile bird flu vaccine now
...actory in Liverpool that is licensed to handle the genetically engineered viruses required. But it cannot start until the problems with contamination that shut down the company's normal flu vaccine plant at the same site are cleared up. Without a dedicated factory, companies have only a two to three-month window...Marine seaweed can detoxify organic pollutants
...vironment, the scientists said. Studies to create genetically engineered seaweeds that perform these functions even better are also promising, the researchers said.......with some 100 patients, Reiner said, those who are genetically male, with the 46 XY makeup, will tend to identify themselves as boys if they can react and respond to male hormone, and even if they are born without a penis, underwent surgical reassignment and were raised as girls. "These children know who they ar...Gene therapy converts dead bone graft to new, living tissue
...d in the dead bone when Schwarz paints it with the genetically modified virus. New blood vessels begin to grow around and into the bone splint, stripping it down in times when the body needs the calcium, and rebuilding it when calcium levels rise. The bone that is rebuilt is now fully the patient's own, as if th...Stanford researcher to discuss public confidence in genetic technology
...ces between the United States and Europe regarding genetically modified food. Some of those differences in attitude may carry over into perceptions of genetics in health care. Additional questions revolve around when testing for a given disease-causing mutation is appropriate. For example, genetic tests can be u...Epilepsy and depression - A two-way street?
...e at work, Kanner said. Studies with rats that are genetically prone to epilepsy show abnormal secretion in the brain of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine, GABA and dopamine. The abnormal secretion patterns of serotonin and norepinephrine in these animals are similar to abnormal patterns for th...New findings lead researchers to question basic assumptions of fisheries management
...ented at the symposium includes new findings about genetically distinct populations within the geographic ranges of some marine fish species, as well as evidence that successful breeders may be few and far between in some populations. These and other findings further undermine fundamental assumptions of current ...Signaling protein builds bigger, better bones in mice
...a single bound may be out of the question, but the genetically engineered "supermice" in Ormond MacDougald's laboratory at the University of Michigan Medical School are definitely stronger than average. With bone mass up to four times greater than ordinary mice, these research animals could hold the secret to ne...Individual taste receptor variations determine 'classic' PTC bitterness perception
... of tastes. The longest-recognized and most famous genetically determined taste difference among people is the ability to taste PTC (phenylthiocarbamide) as bitter. PTC taste sensitivity varies tremendously among people; the threshold amount of PTC perceptible by individuals varies over a 1000-fold difference in...UT Southwestern researchers see hope for treating blindness in preemies
...e it happens. Dr. Garcia examined the eyes of mice genetically engineered to lack the HIF-2a gene. These mice could not make HIF-2a protein and had multiple visual defects associated with blindness. They were blind by 1 month of age. "These mice initially behaved as if they were blind," Dr. Garcia said. "And i...