News tagged with genetic variation

Genetic safety in numbers, platypus study finds

(Phys.org) -- Platypuses on the Australian mainland and in Tasmania are fighting fit but those on small islands are at high risk of being wiped out from disease, according to a University of Sydney study.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created May 18, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Crop root study to boost Australian grain production

Researchers at The University of Western Australia say that "next frontier" of agricultural science is understanding the root system and function of crop plants to significantly increase Australian grain production, ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Breeder works to reduce aluminum toxicity in rice

(Phys.org) -- As rice farmers around the world begin to turn from wet paddies to dry fields in an attempt to conserve water and mitigate climate change, they are facing a new foe: aluminum.

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 08, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

New study suggests polar bears evolved earlier than previously thought

(Phys.org) -- A new genetic analysis carried out by and international team of scientists has revealed that polar bears and brown bears may have diverged around 600,000 years ago, which is much earlier than ...

Biology / Evolution

created Apr 20, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 69 | with audio podcast report

Plants and animals under greater threat due to climate change

Plant and animal species can lose their ability to adapt as a result of climate change. This is shown by research performed by Marleen Cobben with which she hopes to obtain her doctorate at Wageningen University on April ...

Biology / Ecology

created Apr 16, 2012 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 2

Single gene mutation can sweep through bacterial population, opening the door for the concept of 'species'

Bacteria are the most populous organisms on the planet. They thrive in almost every known environment, adapting to different habitats by means of genetic variations that provide the capabilities essential ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 05, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Maternal gene causes more piglets to be born

A sow gives birth to more piglets if the DIO3 gene from its mother is expressed instead of the same gene inherited from its father. This is shown during research conducted by the Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre in Wageningen ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Mar 26, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

New research suggests European Neandertals were almost extinct long before humans showed up

Western Europe has long been held to be the "cradle" of Neandertal evolution since many of the earliest discoveries were from sites in this region. But when Neandertals started disappearing around 30,000 years ...

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Mar 26, 2012 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (8) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

Sexual reproduction can increase genetic variation but reduce species diversity

The role of sex in driving genetic variation and generating higher biodiversity has been debated for over a century. Speeding up evolution may increase genetic variation, but surprisingly it can reduce species diversity, ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Mar 08, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

European neanderthals were on the verge of extinction even before the arrival of modern humans: study

New findings from an international team of researchers show that most neanderthals in Europe died off around 50,000 years ago.

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Feb 26, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (13) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Research offers way to save endangered Florida bird, and a lesson for conservationists

A team of researchers has found a key to the habitat puzzle for improving long-term survival of the endangered Florida Scrub-Jay.

Biology / Ecology

created Feb 22, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

How the 'Quarter' Horse won the rodeo

American Quarter Horses are renowned for their speed, agility, and calm disposition. Consequently over four million Quarter horses are used as working horses on ranches, as show horses or at rodeos. New research ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 17, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Knowledge of fungi helps to map risks of genetically modified crops

Plant fungi are indispensable for a good plant growth. Dutch researcher Erik Verbruggen from the VU University Amsterdam has discovered that phosphate and grass-clover have an effect on the diversity and variation in the ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 14, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Researchers find extensive RNA editing in human transcriptome

In a new study published online in Nature Biotechnology, researchers from BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, reported the evidence of extensive RNA editing in a human cell line by analysis of RNA-seq data, demons ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 12, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Roundworm research reviewed in Science publication

There are 16,000 types of parasitic roundworms causing illnesses in humans and animals. Controlling their effects on health becomes more difficult as the medicines used to treat them become less effective. A University of ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Feb 03, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Genetic variation

Genetic variation, variation in alleles of genes, occurs both within and among populations. Genetic variation is important because it provides the “raw material” for natural selection.

For more information about Genetic variation, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.