News tagged with plos genetics

Robots learn to share, validating Hamilton's rule (w/ video)

Using simple robots to simulate genetic evolution over hundreds of generations, Swiss scientists provide quantitative proof of kin selection and shed light on one of the most enduring puzzles in biology: Why ...

Biology / Evolution

created May 03, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (14) | comments 13 | with audio podcast

The code for survival: Cells fight stress by reprogramming a system of RNA modifications

(PhysOrg.com) -- When cells are exposed to life-threatening stresses, they take quick action to save themselves. Among other defenses, they start manufacturing proteins that perform critical tasks such as ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Dec 17, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

RNA offers a safer way to reprogram cells

In recent years, scientists have shown that they can reprogram human skin cells to an immature state that allows the cells to become any type of cell. This ability, known as pluripotency, holds the promise ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jul 23, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (11) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Scientists discover human sperm gene is 600 million years old

Just as styles in sexy clothes or fashion change from year to year and culture to culture, "sexy" genes, or genes specific to sex, also change rapidly. But there is one sex-specific gene so vital, its function has remained ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jul 15, 2010 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (20) | comments 11 | with audio podcast

Most modern European males descend from farmers who migrated from the Near East

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study from the University of Leicester has found that most men in Europe descend from the first farmers who migrated from the Near East 10,000 years ago. The findings are published January 19 in the ...

Biology / Evolution

created Jan 19, 2010 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (11) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

Model suggests how life's code emerged from primordial soup

(PhysOrg.com) -- In 1953, Stanley Miller filled two flasks with chemicals assumed to be present on the primitive Earth, connected the flasks with rubber tubes and introduced some electrical sparks as a stand-in for lightning. ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Aug 07, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (20) | comments 15

Study finds human population expanded during late Stone Age

Genetic evidence is revealing that human populations began to expand in size in Africa during the Late Stone Age approximately 40,000 years ago. A research team led by Michael F. Hammer (Arizona Research Laboratory's Division ...

Biology / Evolution

created Jul 29, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 5

Male sex chromosome losing genes by rapid evolution, study reveals

Scientists have long suspected that the sex chromosome that only males carry is deteriorating and could disappear entirely within a few million years, but until now, no one has understood the evolutionary ...

Biology / Evolution

created Jul 17, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (16) | comments 11

Maps of Miscanthus genome offer insight into grass evolution

Miscanthus grasses are used in gardens, burned for heat and energy, and converted into liquid fuels. They also belong to a prominent grass family that includes corn, sorghum and sugarcane. Two new, indepe ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 15, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Tiny plants could cut costs, shrink environmental footprint

Tall, waving corn fields that line Midwestern roads may one day be replaced by dwarfed versions that require less water, fertilizer and other inputs, thanks to a fungicide commonly used on golf courses.

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 15, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (6) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Genetic packing: Successful stem cell differentiation requires DNA compaction, study finds

(Phys.org) -- New research findings show that embryonic stem cells unable to fully compact the DNA inside them cannot complete their primary task: differentiation into specific cell types that give rise to ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 11, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Whale population size, dynamics determined based on ancient DNA

Estimates of whale population size based on genetics versus historical records diverge greatly, making it difficult to fully understand the ecological implications of the large-scale commercial whaling of the 19th and early ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created May 09, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Tasmanian tiger suffered low genomic diversity

The enigmatic Tasmanian tiger, known also as the thylacine, was hunted to extinction in the wild at the turn of the 20th century, and the last one died in a Tasmanian zoo in 1936.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 18, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

Promiscuous queen bees maintain genetic diversity

By mating with nearly 100 males, queen bees on isolated islands avoid inbreeding and keep colonies healthy.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 16, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Deep sequencing reveals undeclared, potentially toxic ingredients within 15 samples of traditional Chinese medicines

Researchers at Murdoch University have used new DNA sequencing technology to reveal the animal and plant composition of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). Some of the TCM samples tested contained potentially ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Apr 12, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

PLoS Genetics

PLoS Genetics is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that reflects the interdisciplinary nature of genetics and genomics research by publishing contributions in all areas of biology. The journal is indexed in PubMed Central, PubMed, and ISI Web of Knowledge.

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