Change in gene code may explain how human ancestors lost tails
A genetic change in our ancient ancestors may partly explain why humans don't have tails like monkeys, finds a new study led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
A genetic change in our ancient ancestors may partly explain why humans don't have tails like monkeys, finds a new study led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
Evolution
Feb 28, 2024
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Researchers at the University of Alberta have uncovered what they say has been the missing puzzle piece ever since the genetic code was first cracked.
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 28, 2024
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224
In a new Nature Communications study, researchers have explored the construction of genetic circuits on single DNA molecules, demonstrating localized protein synthesis as a guiding principle for dissipative nanodevices, offering ...
A genetic analysis of bone fragments unearthed at an archaeological site in central Germany shows conclusively that modern humans—Homo sapiens—had already reached Northern Europe 45,000 years ago, overlapping with Neanderthals ...
Archaeology
Jan 31, 2024
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564
Researchers at Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China, have announced the discovery of a new species within the hedgehog genus Mesechinus. The eastern China hedgehog species was found to be distinct from other regional hedgehogs ...
A research team led by scientists from the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) has developed the most comprehensive genome yet for the North American bison, bringing the animal's genetic roadmap ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 20, 2023
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281
Investigators led by Neil Kelleher, Ph.D., professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology and of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, have developed an automated technique for imaging and identifying proteoforms ...
Biotechnology
Nov 10, 2023
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Researchers at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) and an interdisciplinary team of collaborators have uncovered new information about the history of cat evolution explaining how cats—including ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 2, 2023
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1464
For centuries, naturalists have puzzled over what might constitute the head of a sea star, commonly called a "starfish." When looking at a worm, or a fish, it's clear which end is the head and which is the tail. But with ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 1, 2023
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2586
The remains of human bones with cutmarks, breaks and human chewing marks found across northern Europe show that some human groups living around 15,000 years ago were eating their dead not out of necessity, but as part of ...
Archaeology
Oct 5, 2023
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406
Genetics (from Ancient Greek γενετικός genetikos, “genitive” and that from γένεσις genesis, “origin”), a discipline of biology, is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. The fact that living things inherit traits from their parents has been used since prehistoric times to improve crop plants and animals through selective breeding. However, the modern science of genetics, which seeks to understand the process of inheritance, only began with the work of Gregor Mendel in the mid-nineteenth century. Although he did not know the physical basis for heredity, Mendel observed that organisms inherit traits via discrete units of inheritance, which are now called genes.
Genes correspond to regions within DNA, a molecule composed of a chain of four different types of nucleotides—the sequence of these nucleotides is the genetic information organisms inherit. DNA naturally occurs in a double stranded form, with nucleotides on each strand complementary to each other. Each strand can act as a template for creating a new partner strand—this is the physical method for making copies of genes that can be inherited.
The sequence of nucleotides in a gene is translated by cells to produce a chain of amino acids, creating proteins—the order of amino acids in a protein corresponds to the order of nucleotides in the gene. This relationship between nucleotide sequence and amino acid sequence is known as the genetic code. The amino acids in a protein determine how it folds into a three-dimensional shape; this structure is, in turn, responsible for the protein's function. Proteins carry out almost all the functions needed for cells to live. A change to the DNA in a gene can change a protein's amino acids, changing its shape and function: this can have a dramatic effect in the cell and on the organism as a whole. Two additional factors that can change the shape of the protein are pH and temperature.
Although genetics plays a large role in the appearance and behavior of organisms, it is the combination of genetics with what an organism experiences that determines the ultimate outcome. For example, while genes play a role in determining an organism's size, the nutrition and other conditions it experiences after inception also have a large effect.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA