Evolution News and Research

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Inhibition of return and autism

Next time you lose your car keys and enlist the family to help you search, try a little experiment.

28 Jun 2007

A new system for collaboration in cell communication

Investigators from the Institute of Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) have identified a new signalling mechanism among cells in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster.

27 Jun 2007

Protein C levels help predict severity of illness and risk of death in ICU patients

A simple laboratory test to measure protein C - a natural anti-blood-clotting substance that also reflects the level of inflammation in the body - may offer a useful new indicator of the severity of illness and risk of death among critically ill patients.

26 Jun 2007

Scientists look at the ecosystem within us

For more than 100 years, scientists have known that humans carry a rich ecosystem within their intestines.

26 Jun 2007

Cilia research may help find cure for inherited eye diseases

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified proteins in the rod and cones of the eye that could lead to the discovery of the genetic causes of a host of inherited eye diseases.

23 Jun 2007

Scientists identify gene responsible for one type of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorder

Scientists have identified the gene responsible for one type of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorder, a common inherited neurological disease, thanks to the chance appearance of a strain of impaired 'pale tremor' mice in a University of Michigan research laboratory.

23 Jun 2007

New understanding of modern pandemic infection

Human resistance to a retrovirus that infected chimpanzees and other nonhuman primates 4 million years ago ironically may be at least partially responsible for the susceptibility of humans to HIV infection today.

23 Jun 2007

New uderstanding of how enzymes work

In a publication selected as a "2007 Hot Article" by the journal Biochemistry , University at Buffalo chemists report the discovery of a central mechanism responsible for the action of the powerful biological catalysts known as enzymes.

20 Jun 2007

Acquired DNA key to certain bacterial infection

Researchers announced this week the discovery of a mechanism by which Mycobacterium avium - a bacterium which can result in serious lung infections and is prevalent in emphysema and AIDS patients among others - infects tissue cells or macrophages and thus compromises the body's immunity.

19 Jun 2007

New model shows how simple chemical and physical processes may have laid the foundation for life

Before life emerged on earth, either a primitive kind of metabolism or an RNA-like duplicating machinery must have set the stage, so experts believe.

15 Jun 2007

How we choose partners and the impact of a parent's role in this process

Women who enjoy good childhood relationships with their fathers are more likely to select partners who resemble their dads research suggests.

14 Jun 2007

Researchers track how spores break out of dormant state

Tapping into the unknown world of awakening dormant bacterial spores, researchers have revealed through atomic force microscopy (AFM) the alterations of spore coat and germ cell wall that accompany the transformation from a spore to a vegetative cell.

5 Jun 2007

Link between khat use and mental illness

Researchers investigating the evidence for a potential causal link between khat use and mental illness - in the first ever systematic review of the topic - have called for improved research on the stimulant plant, and its possible association with psychiatric disorders.

5 Jun 2007

Systems characterization of cell surface receptors

Cells communicate with their environment through molecules on their surface known as receptors.

3 Jun 2007

Scientists provide insight into how organisms adapt to changing environmental conditions and fluctuations

Forthcoming in Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, a fascinating new selection of papers collects leading experimental research in evolution and artificial selection, providing insight into how organisms adapt to changing environmental conditions and fluctuations.

30 May 2007