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Scoop.it!
Not the only gene that separates us from other apes, but an interesting one. 
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Scoop.it!
Think your DNA is 100 percent Homo sapiens? Think again. A recent study in the journal Nature reports that at least 40 million years ago, our primate ancestors "invited" a gene from an infecting virus into their genomes. Because this phenomenon adds novelty to a species' DNA makeup, it may represent a newly discovered mode of evolutionary change.
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Male homosexuality is inborn and may be triggered by a gene carried by mothers, new findings suggest.
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How can a "thumbs up" sign help us remember five processes that impact evolution? The story of the Five Fingers of Evolution gives us a clever way of understanding change in gene pools over time.
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Multiple copies of a gene may have boosted the computational power of our ancestors' brains.
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From
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Can lost species ever become un-extinct? In the 1993 science fiction film "Jurassic Park," dinosaurs are cloned back to life after their DNA is discovered still intact within the bellies of ancient mosquitoes that were preserved in amber. While the science of cloning is still in its infancy, many scientists now believe it's only a matter of time before many extinct animals again walk the Earth.
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In a dog-eat-dog world of ruthless competition and ‘survival of the fittest,’ new research reveals that individuals are genetically programmed to work together and cooperate with those who most resemble themselves.
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A new hypothesis posed by a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, associate professor and colleagues could be a game changer in the evolution arena. According to the hypothesis, evolution pushes microorganisms to lose essential functions when there is another species around to perform them. This idea counters popular evolutionary thinking that living organisms evolve by adding genes rather than discarding them.
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Evolutionary biologist at the University of Reading Professor Mark Pagel argues that our cultural influences are more important to our success as a species than our genes in his new book published this week.
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The human being is compounded of a congeries of genes. These genes are responsible for the man to greatly appreciate his own well being, and greatly suffer with his own pain. They are also responsi...
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For decades, biologists have debated whether individuals sacrifice themselves to save those who share their genes or in effect to benefit the whole group. University of Vermont researcher Charles Goodnight has shown through mathematical models that the two views of altruism, kin selection versus group selection, are in fact equivalent behaviors. The research sheds new light on fundamental issues in evolutionary theory.
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Cells trying to keep pace with constantly changing environmental conditions need to strike a fine balance between maintaining their genomic integrity and allowing enough genetic flexibility to adapt to inhospitable conditions. In their latest study, researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research were able to show that under stressful conditions yeast genomes become unstable, readily acquiring or losing whole chromosomes to enable rapid adaption.
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By watching evolution in progress, scientists reveal key developments in the evolution of complex life and put evolutionary theories to the test...
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From
phys
One of the more difficult aspects of evolution for some people to swallow is the notion that random copying errors in DNA can add up to anything useful. In two recently published projects, however, scientists show how typos can indeed lead to improvements. In numerous species of insects, they document the DNA errors that led to changes that are not only beneficial but also brilliant.
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In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers are circling in on another hypothesis. The suggestion that inactivation of two specific genes related to the immune system may have conferred selected ancestors of modern humans with improved protection from certain infectious diseases, and also lead to our divergence from our common ancestors.
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Jurassic Park. There, with that obvious reference out of the way, we can get started. Can we actually revive organisms (focusing on animals here) that have gone extinct? How? And how far away is it...
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From
phys
Sex differences account for some of the most of the spectacular traits in nature: the wild colours of male guppies, the plumage of peacocks, tusks on walruses and antlers on moose.
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Golden locks of dark-skinned Melanesians have different genetic basis to those of Europeans.
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Just as banks store away only the most valuable possessions in the most secure safes, cells prioritize which genes they guard most closely, researchers have found.
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The first human eggs grown from human stem cells could be fertilized with human sperm cells later this year, potentially revolutionizing fertility treatment for women. This could be one more step on the path toward reproduction sans human interaction — in this case, a potential parent wouldn’t even need to donate her eggs. But it could also turn stem cells into an infinite loop, of egg cells into embryos into stem cells, and on and on, in a fractal-like repetition of reproduction.
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Researchers have completed the genome sequence for the gorilla, the last genus of the living great apes to have its genome decoded.
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The fundamental issue with this question is that there is an assumption that humans evolved from apes - but this is not the case. The simple answer is that humans did not evolve from apes: both apes, humans, and other primates evolved from a common ancestor. The common ancestor was probably more similar to apes than humans in terms of appearance. It is estimated that this lineage branched apart 8 million years ago - one branch leading to homonids (human-like), and the other branch leading to apes. This estimate varies - some arguing the split was as close as 5 million years ago, others that it was as distant as 20 million years ago.
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Recently I came across a reference to memetics, which I've heard of and frankly dismissed as a conflation of the biological and cultural, similar to UG, in a way that ignores the cognitive processe... Articles about NEUROSCIENCE: http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?page=7&tag=neuroscience
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A tiny mountainous region in southern Siberia may have been the genetic source of the earliest Native Americans, according to new research.
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A new study shows a hybrid plant species may experience rapid genome evolution in predictable patterns, meaning evolution repeats itself in populations of independent origin. "Scientists have often wondered if there are 'rules' that govern patterns of evolution, and data for Tragopogon polyploids suggest that such rules may actually operate at the genetic level."
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