In the face of natural selection, genetic mutations set some individuals up for success. A single change to the sequence of a gene can give an organism an advantage—and if that mutation is passed to future generations, ...
Evolution
Feb 15, 2022
0
6
For many decades, evolutionary biologists assumed that the changes in DNA, known as mutations, occur irrespective of any consequences for the organism. A team led by Professor Detlef Weigel, Director at the Max Planck Institute ...
Evolution
Feb 15, 2022
0
11
A number of existing strains of SARS-CoV-2, as well as other future variants that could arise, have the potential to escape the immune system's cytotoxic T cell response in some portion of the population. That's the conclusion ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Feb 10, 2022
0
797
Caribou (known as reindeer in Europe) make one of the longest seasonal migrations of land animals, but an individual's propensity to migrate depends on its genetic ancestry, Maria Cavedon at the University of Calgary in Canada ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 10, 2022
0
47
CRISPR-Cas9, the "genetic scissors," creates new potential for curing diseases, but treatments must be reliable. In a new study, researchers have discovered that the method can give rise to unforeseen changes in DNA that ...
Biotechnology
Feb 2, 2022
0
79
A new study by a team of researchers from Israel and Ghana has brought the first evidence of nonrandom mutation in human genes, challenging a core assumption at the heart of evolutionary theory by showing a long-term directional ...
Evolution
Jan 31, 2022
6
1768
Popular belief has been that small dogs, such as Pomeranians and Chihuahuas, exist because once dogs were domesticated, humans wanted small, cute companions. But in the journal Current Biology on January 27, researchers at ...
Evolution
Jan 27, 2022
0
1492
Researchers at the University of Stirling have found that animals in lakes closest to the Chernobyl nuclear reactor have more genetic mutations than those from further away, giving new insight into the effect of radiation ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 26, 2022
0
63
Sometimes the smallest action can have unintended consequences, like the proverbial flap of a butterfly's wings. So, when making small changes, it's important to be alert to large effects, such as when using gene editing ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 19, 2022
0
6
A simple roadside weed may hold the key to understanding and predicting DNA mutation, according to new research from University of California, Davis, and the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Germany.
Evolution
Jan 12, 2022
4
3388
