Stick insects, Timema knulli, on a Redwood tree branch. Utah State University evolutionary geneticist Zach Gompert and colleagues studied a chromosomal inversion in the species and report findings in the June 12, 2023, online edition of PNAS. Credit: Moritz Muschick.According to Zachariah Gompert, an evolutionary geneticist from Utah State University, genetic diversity serves as the...
In the initial comprehensive study conducted on monkeys, it was discovered that CRISPR does not induce unintended off-target mutations. Credit : galitskaya/Depositphotos.As the first human trials utilizing the potentially groundbreaking CRISPR gene editing technique are set to begin in the UK and the US, there are lingering concerns regarding the overall safety of this...
Great white shark Credit: https://www.pexels.com/pt-brGreat white sharks have few predators capable of dominating them. Yet their lives are not easy as they have to deal with others of the same species.Even having terrible wounds in a short time, white sharks can heal and this characteristic we also find in other species of sharks.In...
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public DomainIn a research showing up today in JAMA Network Open, Rady Kid's Institute for Genomic Medicine (RCIGM) scientists discovered that the contribution of genetic diseases to infant deaths was greater than formerly recognized. Of 112 infant deaths examined, single-locus (Mendelian) genetic diseases were found to be the most typical antecedent of...
Atherogenesis is depicted in a young (a) or aged (b) host. Aged monocytes/macrophages have decreased levels of the epigenetic regulator TET2, leading to reduction of the 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) mark on the Itgb3 promoter. The resulting low integrin β3 levels in aged monocytes/macrophages induces high TNFα levels, facilitating recruitment and expansion of multiple SMC progenitors...
Credit: CC0 Public DomainMore than 10% of older adults create somatic (non-inherited) mutations in blood stem cells that could trigger explosive, clonal expansions of abnormal cells, enhancing the risk for blood cancer and heart disease.Multiple DNA sequencing techniques have been utilized to determine what is called "clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential," or CHIP. Still,...
The worm that the researchers studied and for which they sequenced the genome. It is a segmented worm that is abundant on the coasts of the UK and Europe. It lives inside a tube that it secretes itself burrowed in the sand. Credit: Chema Martin.For greater than 100 years, biologists have wondered why animals...
Credit: Annelisa LeinbachAn increase in genetic regulatory aspects explains how modern humans evolved bigger brains than other hominins.The surface area of the human being's cerebral cortex is more than 3 times the dimension of that of the chimpanzee. Neuroscientists have found that particular gene variants are linked to increases in brain surface area. The...
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public DomainIn a recent research released today in Cell Reports, scientists from the Donald K. Johnson Eye Institute (DKJEI), part of the Krembil Research Institute at University Health Network, have determined anteriorly unknown links between genetic factors in autism spectrum disorder (ASD).This neurodevelopmental disorder is associated with a wide variety of physiological...
Two Thylacine in a cage. Credit: WikipediaScientists in Australia and the United States are starting a multi-million dollar project to bring the Tasmanian tiger back from extinction.The last known Tasmanian Tiger, technically named Thylacine, passed away in the 1930s.The group behind the effort claims it can accomplish this using stem cells and gene-editing technology....
