http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) funded research at the University has highlighted the key role played by employers in influencing people's decisions over retirement and extending working life. http://phys.org/news268903513.html Other Sciences Mon, 08 Oct 2012 08:25:26 EST news268903513 Scientists have discovered that poxviruses, which are responsible for smallpox and other diseases, can adapt to defeat different host antiviral defenses by quickly and temporarily producing multiple copies of a gene that helps the viruses to counter host immunity. This discovery provides new insight into the ability of large double-stranded DNA viruses to undergo rapid evolution despite their low mutation rates, according to a study published by University of Utah researchers in the Aug. 17, 2012, issue of Cell. http://phys.org/news264333704.html Biology Thu, 16 Aug 2012 12:00:13 EST news264333704 (Phys.org) -- Because the gradual increase in temperatures worldwide is still relatively new, researchers have had difficulty in finding examples of genetic changes in organisms that are adapting to the warmer temperatures. Instead they have seen examples of phenotypic plasticity, which is where animals make adaptive changes based on existing conditions that are not brought about by genetic changes. Now though, for the first time, researchers in Alaska have found evidence of genetic changes in pink salmon that have come about over the past few decades as the fish have been migrating upstream earlier than they used to. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the team describes how they found a genetic marker for late spawning fish diminishing over time as water temperatures increased. http://phys.org/news261376983.html Biology Fri, 13 Jul 2012 06:20:01 EST news261376983 A developmental biologist at New York Medical College is proposing a new theory of the origin of birds, which traditionally has been thought to be driven by the evolution of flight. Instead, Stuart A. Newman, Ph.D., credits the emergence of enlarged skeletal muscles as the basis for their upright two-leggedness, which led to the opportunity for other adaptive changes like flying or swimming. And it is all based on the loss of a gene that is critical to the ability of other warm-blooded animals to generate heat for survival. http://phys.org/news227960330.html Biology Wed, 22 Jun 2011 11:19:02 EST news227960330 What's the secret to surviving during times of environmental change? Evolve…quickly. http://phys.org/news163165201.html Biology Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:40:26 EST news163165201