Clones on task serve greater good, evolutionary study shows
...e of the ability of a genotype to produce the same traits regardless of variability of its environment. As D...nvironment because in evolution, there are optimal traits to have, a place you want to be. Canalization prevents you from the minor screw ups along the way e...Gene regulation, not just genes, is what sets humans apart
...eing played in very different ways. In two major traits that set humans apart from chimps and other primates those involving brains and diet gene regulation, the complex cross-talk that governs when genes are turned on and off, appears to be significantly different. Positive selection, the process b...UK scientists working to help cut ID theft
...ion systems measure unique behavioural or physical traits to recognise people. These can be as varied as iris images, fingerprints, the structure of veins in the hand, or even an individuals typing rhythm. Currently they are predominantly used in national government systems for border control or criminal ju...Does the desire to consume alcohol and tobacco come from our genetic makeup?
...e 17th-century, makes the study of complex genomic traits like these easier. Phenotyping for alcohol and tobacco use was conducted using questionnaires. The researchers used a dense map (three haplotypes per cM; r2>0.4), generated by merging 58000 SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) and 437 micro...OHSU turns mouse into factory for human liver cells
..., everything." The mice also retain their unique traits for multiple generations, and each mouse can be implanted with human liver cells at least four times. Grompe estimates that each round of implantation can generate more than 20 million viable human liver cells. "We think we will have a real edge in...Study finds gender differences in renal and other genes contributing to blood pressure
...s) genes that contribute differentially to complex traits (blood pressure) or diseases (hypertension). In a...servations of the role of gender in cardiovascular traits and imply that the development of genetic diagnostic and therapeutic indices for hypertension must t......betweengenetic variants and corresponding physical traits in A. thaliana. This is of broad interest, as Arabidopsis is likely to become an importantmodel for identifying the genetic basis of evolutionary change, Nordborgsaid....Macho men are seen as bad choice for long-term love
...The participants were asked to predict personality traits including sexual behaviour and parenting skills ba...seen as more desirable in terms of all personality traits compared to those who looked unhealthy. Similarly, older faces were generally viewed more positively...Gene predicts better outcome as cortex normalizes in teens with ADHD
...inked to disorder, said Shaw, who noted that other traits linked to the 7-repeat version, such as novelty se...y have been favored through evolution because such traits proved adaptive for survival. The researchers are following up with studies on the relationship b...Disabling a sensory organ prompts female mice to act like male mice
...eristic of the male mouse. Correspondingly, female traits such as nursing behaviors and maternal aggression were diminished. The findings provide strong evidence that male sexual behavior is hard wired into the female mouse brain and suggests, more broadly, that male and female courtship behaviors exist i...Altering a protein makes mice less fearful
...ition for, neuroticisim, phobias and other anxiety traits in humans. The UI team plans to determine the specific sites of action of ASIC1a in the brain, and focus on understanding the role of the ion channel in the amygdala. They also are interested in whether the protein is involved in other types of psy...Genomics study provides insight into the evolution of unique human traits
...expansions and contractions in humans may underlie traits such as endurance running, higher cognitive functi...ied are likely to be important to lineage-specific traits found in humans and in the other primate lineages surveyed. To illustrate this potential, the scient...How to structure a complex body plan
...evel whereas the fixed, predetermined morphometric traits are associated to the colony level. In addition, the group found that, depending on the original branch structure, the spherical 3-D colonial architecture in this species is achieved by joining developmental processes at both, the branch and the co...Study sheds light on why humans walk on two legs
...ominid fossil record, they found evidence of these traits skeletal characteristics of the hip and hind limb that allow for greater extension of the hind limb -- in some early bipeds. Taken together, the findings provide support for the hypothesis that anatomical differences affecting gait existed among o...Research study describes the role part of the brain plays in memory
...ble expression of memory, which is one of the main traits of declarative memory. This task depends on learning how to associate smells, a function that is commanded by a specific region of the brain, the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM), which produces acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter that "transfer...Disease-free mosquito bred to disease-carrier can have all disease-free progeny
...lls in the reproductive germline to change the way traits are inherited, said Zach Adelman, assistant professor of entomology and a member of the Vector-Borne Infectious Disease Research Group at Virginia Tech ( www.vectorborne.ibphs.vt.edu ). Adelman will discuss what the research breakthrough means for ...Ability to listen to 2 things at once is largely inherited, says twin study
...gnitude that is comparable to well-known inherited traits such as type 1 diabetes and height. Conversely, the ability to understand the filtered words showed high correlation among all twins, indicating that variation in that skill is primarily due to differences in environment. Scientists believe that p...Decoding mushroom's secrets could combat carbon, find better biofuels and safer soils
...nsumers through identification of improved quality traits such as disease resistance.The University of Warwicks horticultural research arm Warwick HRI will co-ordinate provision of genetic materials to the Joint Genome Institute in California for sequencing, will organise analysis of the sequence data and a...Researchers witness natural selection at work in dramatic comeback of male butterflies
...ointed out that, unlike mutations that govern such traits as wing color or antennae length, a genetic change that affects the sex ratio of a population has a very wide impact on the biology of the species. It is not yet clear whether the suppressor gene emerged from a chance mutation from within the local...New way to target and kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria found
... two go on their merry way, one with new genes for traits such as drug resistance. Many highly-drug resistant bacteria rely on an enzyme, called DNA relaxase, to obtain and pass on their resistance genes. A mutation that provides antibiotic resistance can sweep through a colony as quickly as the latest YouT...