Developed at the University of Southern California, test based on genomic data avoids pitfalls of older methods

Biologists seeking elusive proof of natural selection at the single-gene level have a powerful new tool at their disposal. Chris Toomajian, postdoctoral researcher in molecular and computational biology in the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, led a group that sought to replace the standard neutral model, a common but unrealistic test for natural selection, wit

Although the odds that DNA evidence found at a crime scene will match by chance the DNA of a person who was not there are infinitesimal, controversy continues about DNA identification and its use in criminal investigations, says Carnegie Mellon University Statistics Professor Kathryn Roeder. Roeder will present a historical overview of the use of DNA identification on Tuesday, April 25, during the Annual Symposia of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.

Almost 28,000 cases na

A rare gene variant in humans helps to protect against two of the country’s top killers — type 2 diabetes and heart disease — as well as against hypertriglyceridemia, a condition that increases the risk of heart disease, obesity, and pancreatitis. A team of researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Channing Laboratory published their findings in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Individuals who had the gene

Find is first to identify specific mechanism by which invasive plants harm native species

An invasive weed that has spread across much of the U.S. harms native maples, ashes, and other hardwood trees by releasing chemicals harmful to a soil fungus the trees depend on for growth and survival, scientists report this week in the Public Library of Science. The tree-stifling alien, garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), first introduced into the U.S. in the 1860s, has since spread to Can

The provision of care in Europe for adults born with heart disease is inadequate and there are too few specialist centres to support their ever-increasing numbers, according to international research published on-line today (Wednesday 26 April) in European Heart Journal[1] – the journal of the European Society of Cardiology.

“Society has invested a lot towards increasing the life expectancy of these children, but seems less interested when they are grown up,” said lead author Dr Ph

Women who undergo surgery for breast cancer followed by radiation therapy often experience breast deformities that can only be corrected through reconstructive surgery. Researchers at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, in collaboration with bioengineers at Carnegie Mellon University, have developed a polymer-based therapy for breast cancer that could serve as an artificial tissue filler after surgery and a clinically effective therapy. Their findings, based on studies with mice, wil

Prenatal exposure to air pollutants in New York City can adversely affect child development, according to the results of a study released today by the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH) at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Previous studies have shown that the same air pollutants can reduce fetal growth (both weight and head circumference at birth), but this study, which examined a group of the same children at three years of age, is the first

Selenium does not protect against cardiovascular disease, despite its documented antioxidant and chemopreventive properties, analysis of a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial covering 13 years has shown.

The selenium-CVD association was a secondary endpoint in the Nutritional Prevention of Cancer Trial, which was designed primarily to determine if selenium supplementation could prevent the recurrence of non-melanoma skin cancer.

Results of the trial, the only la

A promising new technique to ensure complete tumor removal at breast cancer excision is introduced in the May issue of Radiology.

Researchers used light waves in a newly explored region of the electromagnetic spectrum–the terahertz region–to examine excised breast tissue and determine if the removed tissue margins were clear of cancer, with good results. This technology has the potential to eliminate the need for multiple surgeries and tissue samples to get clear surgical margins.

MIT bioengineers have devised a new technique that makes it possible to learn more about how cells are organized in tissues and potentially even to regrow cells for repairing areas of the body damaged by disease, accidents or aging. The method gives them unprecedented control over organizing cells outside the body in three dimensions, which is how they exist inside the body. It uses electricity to move cells into a desired position, followed by light to lock them into place within a gel th

Coding for arthropods—what’s so special about insects and spiders?

The central dogma of molecular biology is that DNA makes RNA makes protein. This relies on a specific underlying code which relates given triplets of RNA nucleotides into specific amino acids. Each of the 20 amino acids is represented by one or more RNA triplets, or codons: UAC is decoded as tyrosine, for example, and UGC as cysteine. (U is the RNA nucleotide containing uracil, A is adenine, C is cytosine, and G is g

It seems intuitive that genes are affected by selection as a result of environment. In fact there is little evidence thus far that such genetic effects impact year-to-year population dynamics. Of course to provide such evidence the right gene (that causes a specific genetic effect) needs to be studied and a detailed knowledge of the complex and powerful environmental factors against which this effect plays out is necessary.

In a new study published online in the open-access journal PLoS Bi

Men become more jealous of dominant males when their female partner is near ovulation, researchers at the University of Liverpool have found.

Previous studies have found that women’s preferences for male physical appearance vary according to their fertility status. During ovulation women tend to find masculine looking men more attractive and prefer their voices and odour. During this fertile phase women are more likely to have an affair with a masculine-looking man, as their features ar

Micro-RNA, a special type of RNA found in brain cells, plays an important role in the mechanisms of human brain development and in the emergence of certain mental diseases. This hypothesis was put forward by Evgeny Rogaev, a Russian neuroscientist. It is based on the data from publications and his own research conducted in Russia and the USA.

Micro-RNA is a special class of regulatory RNA just 19-22 nucleotides in length. Such micro-RNAs are the products of operation of short genes that

People, as they belong to the mammals, should be particularly interested in the problem of origin of this class in the animal kingdom that has conquered the entire world through evolution: not only the land, but, partly the ocean and the air. We have already known our ancient ancestors for long – these are medium-sized animals – eutherapsida (which means “real Synapsida”), they appeared at the end of the palaeozoic, approximately 270 million years ago, and continued to develop in the Age of

Andalusian researchers from the University of Huelva, the University of Seville, the Instituto de la Grasa of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Corporación Alimentaria Peñasanta have produced an emulsion similar to mayonnaise with buttermilk, or whey butter, obtained as a by-product when milk is skimmed. It is a research line resulting from the Spanish PETRI project (it stands for ‘Proyecto Estímulo Transferencia Resultado de Investigación’, project to encourage the transfer of res