News tagged with evolutionary mechanism
Slow snails, fast genes: Predatory snails refine venoms through continuous gene duplication
(Phys.org) -- When tropical marine cone snails sink their harpoon-like teeth into their prey, they inject paralyzing venoms made from a potent mix of more than 100 different neurotoxins.
Apr 10, 2012 |
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Prion proteins play powerful role in survival, evolution of wild yeast strains
Prions, the much-maligned proteins most commonly known for causing "mad cow" disease, are commonly used in yeast to produce beneficial traits in the wild. Moreover, such traits can be passed on to subsequent generations and ...
Feb 15, 2012 |
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Castaway lizards provide insight into elusive evolutionary process
A University of Rhode Island biologist who released lizards on tiny uninhabited islands in the Bahamas has shed light on the interaction between evolutionary processes that are seldom observed.
Feb 02, 2012 |
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Examining evolution from a cellular perspective
The evolutionary processes of unicellular and multicellular organisms are continually under debate. John Torday, Ph.D., a lead investigator at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed), has recently co-authored ...
Jan 25, 2012 |
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Caveman instincts still play role in choosing political leaders
(PhysOrg.com) -- When it comes to voter preference, the issues count. But some may pull the handle for a more primal reason: Physical fitness and stature against an opponent.
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Oct 18, 2011 |
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Researchers find genes that help frogs resist fungus
(PhysOrg.com) -- For several decades, the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been decimating frogs, yet some populations and species have been able to resist the fatal disease, called ...
Sep 27, 2011 |
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Glow-in-the-dark millipede says 'stay away'
As night falls in certain mountain regions in California, a strange breed of creepy crawlies emerges from the soil: Millipedes that glow in the dark. The reason behind the glowing secret has stumped biologists ...
Sep 26, 2011 |
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Chromosome number changes in yeast
Researchers from Trinity College Dublin have uncovered the evolutionary mechanisms that have caused increases or decreases in the numbers of chromosomes in a group of yeast species during the last 100-150 million years. The ...
Jul 21, 2011 |
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In fending off diseases, plants and animals are much the same, research shows
(PhysOrg.com) -- It may have been 1 billion years since plants and animals branched apart on the evolutionary tree but down through the ages they have developed strikingly similar mechanisms for detecting ...
Nov 18, 2010 |
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Alternative evolution: Why change your own genes when you can borrow someone else's?
It has been a basic principle of evolution for more than a century that plants and animals can adapt genetically in ways that help them better survive and reproduce.
Jul 08, 2010 |
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Fungi can change quickly, pass along infectious ability
Fungi have significant potential for "horizontal" gene transfer, a new study has shown, similar to the mechanisms that allow bacteria to evolve so quickly, become resistant to antibiotics and cause other serious ...
Mar 17, 2010 |
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The Bigger The Animal, The Stiffer The 'Shoes'
(PhysOrg.com) -- If a Tiger's feet were built the same way as a mongoose's feet, they'd have to be about the size of a hippo's feet to support the big cat's weight. But they're not.
Feb 24, 2010 |
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Study sheds light on evolution of human complexity
(PhysOrg.com) -- A painstaking analysis of thousands of genes and the proteins they encode shows that human beings are biologically complex, at least in part, because of the way humans evolved to cope with redundancies arising ...
Nov 03, 2009 |
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Like humans, monkeys fall into the 'uncanny valley'
(PhysOrg.com) -- Princeton University researchers have come up with a new twist on the mysterious visual phenomenon experienced by humans known as the "uncanny valley." The scientists have found that monkeys ...
Oct 13, 2009 |
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Genetic sex determination let ancient species adapt to ocean life
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new analysis of extinct sea creatures suggests that the transition from egg-laying to live-born young opened up evolutionary pathways that allowed these ancient species to adapt to and thrive ...
Sep 16, 2009 |
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