News tagged with gene transfer

Related topics: genes , gene therapy

Of microorganisms and man: First large-scale test confirms Darwin's theory of universal common ancestry

More than 150 years ago, Darwin proposed the theory of universal common ancestry (UCA), linking all forms of life by a shared genetic heritage from single-celled microorganisms to humans. Until now, the theory that makes ...

Biology / Evolution

created May 12, 2010 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (65) | comments 164 | with audio podcast

Gonorrhea acquires a piece of human DNA

If a human cell and a bacterial cell met at a speed-dating event, they would never be expected to exchange phone numbers, much less genetic material. In more scientific terms, a direct transfer of DNA has never been recorded ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Feb 14, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (11) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

Darwin's Tree of Life May Be More Like a Thicket

(PhysOrg.com) -- In On The Origin of Species, Darwin used the image of a tree of life to illustrate how species evolve, one from another. Even today, branches sprouting from lower branches (representing ancest ...

Biology /

created Jan 27, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (9) | comments 2 weblog

Lake sturgeon have genes from parasite, signs of human STD

While trying to find a DNA-based test to determine the sex of lake sturgeon, Purdue University researchers found that the sturgeon genome contains trematode genes that didn't originally belong to it and may ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 11, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Horizontal gene transfer in microbes much more frequent than previoulsy thought

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study suggests that genes are transferred from one micro-organism to another up to a hundred million times more frequently than previously thought.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Oct 04, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Gene found to have jumped from gut bacteria to beetle

(PhysOrg.com) -- Genes jumping between bacteria are rather common which in part explains their ability to rapidly develop immunity to antibacterial agents. What’s not so common are examples of genes jumping ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 28, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 3 | with audio podcast report

Discovery of jumping gene cluster tangles tree of life

Since the days of Darwin, the "tree of life" has been the preeminent metaphor for the process of evolution, reflecting the gradual branching and changing of individual species.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 04, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (7) | comments 7

Novel vaccine approach offers hope in fight against HIV

A research team may have broken the stubborn impasse that has frustrated the invention of an effective HIV vaccine, by using an approach that bypasses the usual path followed by vaccine developers. By using ...

Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS

created May 17, 2009 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (7) | comments 3

Gene 'relocation' key to most evolutionary change in bacteria

(PhysOrg.com) -- In a new study, scientists at the University of Maryland and the Institut Pasteur show that bacteria evolve new abilities, such as antibiotic resistance, predominantly by acquiring genes from ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jan 27, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Playing Favorites: Bacteria Share Genes, But Mostly with Family

(PhysOrg.com) -- UConn researchers have shown that genetic similarity may come from preferential gene sharing rather than shared ancestry.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 18, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Michigan hospital launches gene therapy study for Parkinson's disease

A Michigan hospital is embarking on a research study for advanced Parkinson's disease using a state-of-the-art treatment called gene transfer.

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Oct 06, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

First case of animals making their own carotene

The insects known as aphids can make their own essential nutrients called carotenoids, according to University of Arizona researchers.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 29, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Not all clones the same

Despite their name, not all clones are created equal. This is especially true for the products of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), which entails the transplantation of the nucleus from a mature somatic ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Nov 05, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Bacteria may readily swap beneficial genes

(PhysOrg.com) -- Much as people can exchange information instantaneously in the digital age, bacteria associated with humans and their livestock appear to freely and rapidly exchange genetic material related ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Oct 31, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Noxious nanotech: Water-borne nanomaterials promote multidrug-resistance gene transfer

(PhysOrg.com) -- The arms race between effective antibiotic prophylaxis and closely related strains or species of bacteria is continually escalating. Bacteria can quickly develop genetic resistance to a range ...

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Mar 30, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast feature