Evolution News and Research

RSS

Researchers find how different neurons work together to reduce responses to frequent sounds

Being able to understand speech is essential to our evolution as humans. Hearing lets us perceive the same word even when spoken at different speeds or pitches, and also gives us extra sensitivity to unexpected sounds. Now, new studies from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania clarify how these two crucial features of audition are managed by the brain.

12 Oct 2015

Human malaria parasite molecules share key gene segments with chimp, gorilla malaria parasites

The malaria parasite molecules associated with severe disease and death--those that allow the parasite to escape recognition by the immune system--have been shown to share key gene segments with chimp and gorilla malaria parasites, which are separated by several millions of years, according to a new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

12 Oct 2015

Novel mathematical method may help reduce development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

It is estimated that each year in the United States 2 million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to one or more types of antibiotics, and at least 23,000 people will die because of these infections. This problem is being exacerbated by overuse of antibiotics for livestock and also in community clinical practice. This overuse, combined with the slow pace of novel drug discovery is a growing threat to public health.

12 Oct 2015

Neurocrine Biosciences announces positive data from NBI-98854 Phase III trial in tardive dyskinesia

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. announced today that NBI-98854, a highly selective small molecule VMAT2 inhibitor, showed a statistically significant reduction in tardive dyskinesia during the six weeks of placebo-controlled treatment in the Kinect 3 clinical trial. This Phase III trial included moderate to severe tardive dyskinesia patients with underlying schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar or major depressive disorder.

8 Oct 2015

Brain metastases evolve ‘clinically actionable’ mutations

Brain metastatic disease shows branched evolution from the primary tumour, suggest preliminary findings from the largest massively parallel sequencing study of paired samples performed so far.

7 Oct 2015

OLFUS study supports safety, efficacy of DBV's Viaskin Peanut patch in children with peanut allergy

DBV Technologies, a clinical-stage specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that topline findings from the first 12 months of the OLFUS-VIPES study, or OLFUS, support the long-term safety and efficacy of Viaskin Peanut for the treatment of peanut allergy.

7 Oct 2015

Jumping genes: a marker for early cancer diagnosis? An interview with Dr Kazazian

In the genome of every human being, there are about 80-100 active LINE-1s that are capable of mobilizing by a copy and paste mechanism to a new location in the genome.

6 Oct 2015

New regulations coming for biomedical researchers and social scientists using human subjects

The U.S. federal government is preparing to launch a set of sweeping new regulations that will have a major impact on how biomedical researchers and social scientists work. It will require researchers to change how they get ethics approval, how they collect informed consent from participants, and more.

6 Oct 2015

6-minute walk ‘not an accurate surrogate’ in systemic sclerosis-associated PAH

The 6-minute walk distance of patients with systemic sclerosis-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension is not a suitable marker for tracking treatment-related haemodynamic changes, say researchers.

2 Oct 2015

Researchers identify new gene locus that may protect children from developing malaria in Africa

Published today in Nature, the findings detail a new gene locus that can explain why, in communities where everyone is constantly exposed to malaria, some children develop severe malaria and others don't. Now, researchers can be sure that this particular stretch of our DNA plays a crucial role in the progression of the disease.

1 Oct 2015

Advanced targeted therapies dominate treatment pipeline for colorectal cancer, finds Frost & Sullivan

A vast number and variety of remedies are steadily joining the treatment pipeline for colorectal cancer. High incidence of the disease, unmet clinical needs, and huge commercial potential are attracting drug developers to the market.

1 Oct 2015

New reference catalogue may help guide future studies of genetics, evolution and disease

Missing a gene may be less problematic than you'd think. This is one of the conclusions that emerge from the most extensive catalogue of structural variations - changes in large sections of a person's DNA sequence - to date.

1 Oct 2015

Unlocking the genes behind antibiotic resistance: an interview with Professor Romesberg

Bacteria are very, very diverse. This is why their susceptibility to different antibiotics can be very different. It also makes the tools they have to evolve resistance in many cases different.

30 Sep 2015

New study finds that serum miRNA profiles change as myeloma progresses

Virtually all patients who develop myeloma have an asymptomatic disease called monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) in the years before the onset of myeloma. The five-year relative survival rate for myeloma is 69% for patients diagnosed with stage I or localized disease, compared with 45% for patients with advanced cancer.

30 Sep 2015

Study explores how the human brain contributes to success

Discoveries about how the human brain contributes to our success - both as a species and as individuals - are among the first fruit of projects funded under the National Institutes of Health BRAIN Initiative program as well as the Human Connectome Project.

30 Sep 2015

Low birth weight associated with low levels of social trust in adulthood

How much does your baby weigh? All new parents are familiar with that question. Perhaps their reply is more important than we realize. Birth weight affects how much trust an individual will have in other people in his adult life. Trust, in turn, is the glue that prevents society from falling apart. This phenomenon is at the center of new research from Aarhus School of Business and Social Sciences (Aarhus BSS) at Aarhus University, Denmark.

29 Sep 2015

Soft palate study reveals how flu viruses acquire the ability to move between people

National Institutes of Health scientists and their colleagues identified a previously unappreciated role for the soft palate during research to better understand how influenza (flu) viruses acquire the ability to move efficiently between people.

26 Sep 2015

CHOP scientist says that mitochondria play central role in human evolution, disease

Mitochondria are not only the power plants of our cells, these tiny structures also play a central role in our physiology. Furthermore, by enabling flexible physiological responses to new environments, mitochondria have helped humans and other mammals to adapt and evolve throughout the history of life on earth.

26 Sep 2015

Researchers uncover proteins that may have critical role in normal heart function

Researchers at the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research have uncovered a treasure trove of proteins, which hold answers about how our heart pumps -- a phenomenon known as contractility.

26 Sep 2015

UCSF researchers map genetic signature of unusual stem cells in the human brain

The human cerebral cortex contains 16 billion neurons, wired together into arcane, layered circuits responsible for everything from our ability to walk and talk to our sense of nostalgia and drive to dream of the future. In the course of human evolution, the cortex has expanded as much as 1,000-fold, but how this occurred is still a mystery to scientists.

25 Sep 2015

Evolution News and Research

Researchers find how different neurons work together to reduce responses to frequent sounds

Human malaria parasite molecules share key gene segments with chimp, gorilla malaria parasites

Novel mathematical method may help reduce development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Neurocrine Biosciences announces positive data from NBI-98854 Phase III trial in tardive dyskinesia

Brain metastases evolve ‘clinically actionable’ mutations

OLFUS study supports safety, efficacy of DBV's Viaskin Peanut patch in children with peanut allergy

Jumping genes: a marker for early cancer diagnosis? An interview with Dr Kazazian

New regulations coming for biomedical researchers and social scientists using human subjects

6-minute walk ‘not an accurate surrogate’ in systemic sclerosis-associated PAH

Researchers identify new gene locus that may protect children from developing malaria in Africa

Advanced targeted therapies dominate treatment pipeline for colorectal cancer, finds Frost & Sullivan

New reference catalogue may help guide future studies of genetics, evolution and disease

Unlocking the genes behind antibiotic resistance: an interview with Professor Romesberg

New study finds that serum miRNA profiles change as myeloma progresses

Study explores how the human brain contributes to success

Low birth weight associated with low levels of social trust in adulthood

Soft palate study reveals how flu viruses acquire the ability to move between people

CHOP scientist says that mitochondria play central role in human evolution, disease

Researchers uncover proteins that may have critical role in normal heart function

UCSF researchers map genetic signature of unusual stem cells in the human brain

Discover how SciY empowers scientists

Why use light scattering to analyze proteins and viral vectors?

Changing the landscape of R&D to build clinical success from the ground up

Latest News