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New insights into dietary divergences between some of our human ancestors

A Penn State researcher is part of the team that developed techniques that have generated insights into dietary divergences between some of our human ancestors, allowing scientists to better understand the evolutionary path that led to the modern-day diets that humans consume.

3 Aug 2005

Primordial soup where life began on earth was hot and not cold

A new theory that explains why the language of our genes is more complex than it needs to be also suggests that the primordial soup where life began on earth was hot and not cold, as many scientists believe.

2 Aug 2005

Aging profile of the human brain differs greatly from that seen in chimpanzees

Researchers have found that the two primary areas of the human brain appear to age in radically different ways: The cortex used in higher-level thought undergoes more extensive changes with age than the cerebellum, which regulates basic processes such as heartbeat, breathing and balance.

2 Aug 2005

Aging and gene expression in the primate brain

While medical science and a healthy lifestyle can help increase life expectancy, many aspects of aging and longevity are beyond our control. Published this week in the open-access journal PLoS Biology, Michael Eisen and colleagues shed light on these genetic factors by identifying sets of genes whose expression changes with age in human and chimp brains.

2 Aug 2005

Defect in the mechanics of motors that build tiny cellular hairs is the basis of Bardet-Biedl syndrome

A defect in the mechanics of motors that build tiny cellular hairs is the basis of a serious genetic disorder, according to researchers at UC Davis and Simon Fraser University, Canada.

1 Aug 2005

Cats have no sweet tooth

According to British and U.S. scientists cats may like ice cream, but it is not the sugary taste that appeals to them, because they are genetically unable to taste sweet flavors.

28 Jul 2005

Spotting that nasty taste could well have saved our lives

Being able to distinguish the sweetness of oranges from the bitter taste of lemons may have evolved as a protection against eating poisonous plants, according to new genetic research.

27 Jul 2005

Multi-species genome comparison sheds new light on evolutionary processes

An international team that includes researchers from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has discovered that mammalian chromosomes have evolved by breaking at specific sites rather than randomly as long thought - and that many of the breakage hotspots are also involved in human cancer.

25 Jul 2005

Variation in HIV's ability to disable host defenses contributes to rapid evolution

One of the reasons HIV is so difficult to contain and treat is its rapid evolution. Understanding how host defenses and viral countermeasures contribute to that evolution is vital.

25 Jul 2005

Plant toxins in the diets of early humans drove the evolution of taste

Plant toxins in the diets of early humans drove the evolution of a bitter taste receptor better able to detect them, suggests new genetic research by scientists at University College London, Duke University Medical Center, and the German Institute of Human Nutrition.

25 Jul 2005

Hidden secrets on the nature and timing of genome evolution in mammals revealed

Breakages in chromosomes in mammalian evolution have occurred at preferred rather than random sites as long thought, and many of the sites are involved in human cancers, an international team of 25 scientists has discovered.

21 Jul 2005

Major stem cell discovery

Research published in Nature tomorrow (21 July) will outline for the first time the stem cell origin of the structure of the neck and shoulders in vertebrates.

20 Jul 2005

Tamiflu may treat avian flu virus

Experiments in mice show that an antiviral drug currently used against annual influenza strains also can suppress the deadly influenza virus that has spread from birds to humans, killing dozens of people in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand since early 2004.

18 Jul 2005

Nerve cells can also release neurotransmitters outside of synapses

Every neurobiology textbook invariably states that nerve cells communicate with each other through synapses, the specialized cell-cell contacts found at the end of the cells' threadlike extensions. In the journal Science, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences and the University of California at San Diego report that nerve cells, or neurons, may not have to rely on traditionally defined synapses to "talk" to each other.

18 Jul 2005

New method may accelerate the way cancer-causing genes are found

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Cancer Center and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have discovered a new method that could accelerate the way cancer-causing genes are found and could lead to a more accurate identification of the genes, according to two studies in the July 14, 2005, issue of Nature.

13 Jul 2005

Our thirst for novelty begins in the eye itself

Researchers at Harvard University have found evidence that the retina actively seeks novel features in the visual environment, dynamically adjusting its processing in order to seek the unusual while ignoring the commonplace. The scientists report in this week's issue of the journal Nature on their finding that this principle of novelty-detection operates in many visual environments.

13 Jul 2005

Team of experts sent to Vietnam to study bird flu risk

The World Health Organization (WHO) has sent a team of international experts to Vietnam to study whether the H5N1 bird flu virus could be evolving into a form that might trigger a human pandemic.

26 Jun 2005

Rosetta Genomics identifies hundreds of novel human microRNAs

In a study published online this week and to be published as a cover story in the July issue of Nature Genetics, Rosetta Genomics' scientists report identification of hundreds of human microRNA genes, including the first report of primate specific microRNAs.

21 Jun 2005

Fragile-X-syndrome research

The fragile-X-syndrome is the most common hereditary form of mental retardation and occurs much more often in boys than in girls.

20 Jun 2005

Scientists have tracked down the biological trigger that gives rise to Van Buchem disease

...a hereditary, disfiguring bone disorder that can cause blindness and deafness. The findings provide insight into long-range gene regulation and could lead to new treatments for osteoporosis and other crippling bone disorders.

16 Jun 2005