Related topics: genes · genetic variation · genome · nature genetics

Problems with reproduction in birds

In birds and other species alike, pairs can face considerable difficulties with reproduction. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen have now shown in an extensive analysis of 23,000 zebra finch ...

From aflatoxin to sake: A case of microbe domestication

What do beer, dogs and cats, and corn all have in common? All of them are the end products of the process of domestication. Almost everybody knows that a number of different animals and plants have been bred for qualities ...

The evolution of grain yield

A high grain yield is undoubtedly a desirable trait in cereal crops. Floret fertility is a key factor that determines the number of grains per inflorescence of cereals such as bread, wheat or barley. Nonetheless, until recently, ...

Bittersweet: Bait-averse cockroaches shudder at sugar

Sugar isn't always sweet to German cockroaches, especially to the ones that avoid roach baits. In a study published May 24 in the journal Science, North Carolina State University entomologists show the neural mechanism behind ...

Fruit flies lead scientists to new human pain gene

While it has become clear in recent years that susceptibility to pain has a strong inherited component, very little is known about actual "pain genes" and how they work. In the November 12th issue of Cell, researchers at ...

Marine algae implants could boost crop yields

Scientists have discovered the gene that enables marine algae to make a unique type of chlorophyll. They successfully implanted this gene in a land plant, paving the way for better crop yields on less land.

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