Heredity in Biological News

Reflecting on the social implications of human genetics research -- past, present and future

... N.Y. In 1911, the influential geneticist Charles Davenport published heredity in Relation to Eugenics , advancing his ideas of how genetics would ... later. In a new book, Davenports Dream: 21st Century Reflections on heredity and Eugenics , 12 prominent academics discuss themes from Davenports ...

100 reasons to change the way we think about genetics

... and Raz say. "Incorporating epigenetic inheritance into evolutionary theory extends the scope of evolutionary thinking and leads to notions of heredity and evolution that incorporate development," they write. This is a vindication of sorts for 18th century naturalist Jean Baptiste Lamarck. ...

Late motherhood boosts family lifespan

... had longer lives. So the researchers also examined the longevity of the brothers' wives. They found no increase in lifespan, indicating that heredity far more than environmental factors played a role in the prolonged fertility and longer lives of the women, and the longer lives of their brothers. ...

Rotator cuff tears: Are they all in the family?

... great-great-grandparents.) "While we have not determined the exact genetic component," said Dr. Tashjian, "our family history data supports that heredity plays a role in the development of rotator cuff tearing." This problem usually affects people in their 50s and 60s. It is believed to have both ...

Red pandas reveal an unexpected (artificial) sweet tooth

... said Li. "We need to know more about these differences and how they influence our diet." In the study, published online in the Journal of heredity , preferences for six natural sugars and six artificial sweeteners were tested in a zoo setting. For each sweet molecule, the animal was given ...

3 prominent Cell Press journals named among the 100 most influential journals in past 100 years

... 1949, the American Journal of Human Genetics , is published monthly by Cell Press. This journal provides a record of research and review relating to heredity in humans and to the application of genetic principles in medicine and public policy, as well as in related areas of molecular and cell biology. ( ...

Three prominent Cell Press journals named among the 100 most influential journals in past 100 years

... 1949, the American Journal of Human Genetics , is published monthly by Cell Press. This journal provides a record of research and review relating to heredity in humans and to the application of genetic principles in medicine and public policy, as well as in related areas of molecular and cell biology. ( ...

Why didn't Darwin discover Mendel's laws?

... that only quantitative variation contributed to evolution, that the rules of inheritance were too complex and not ready for definitive analysis. heredity and variation played central roles in Darwin's development of the theory of evolution by natural selection. His view that variation is caused by ...

CSHL scientists discover a new way in which epigenetic information is inherited

... into fruit fly embryos "silence" DNA sequences that induce sterility, thus ensuring the fertility of the progeny. "This is a whole new way in which heredity can be transmitted," says Professor Hannon, who is a pioneer in small RNA research. "With this finding we've effectively doubled the number of ...

Two from one: Pitt research maps out evolution of genders from hermaphroditic ancestors

... PITTSBURGHResearch from the University of Pittsburgh published in the Nov. 20 edition of heredity could finally provide evidence of the first stages of the evolution of separate sexes, a theory that holds that males and females developed from ...

Darwin was wrong about the wild origin of the chicken

... than that. The researchers mapped the genes that give most domesticated chickens yellow legs and found to their surprise that this genetic heredity derives from a closely related species, the grey jungle fowl. The study is being published today in the Web edition of PLoS Genetics. Our studies ...

Mice roar message: genetic change happens fast

... While looks can be deceiving, heredity is revealing, and two scientists who've studied the genetic makeup of a common field mouse report that what's most revealing to them is how fast both ...

Twin studies reveal genetic components leading to cardiac and kidney disease

... This study indicates a strong effect of heredity in the occurrence of C-reactive protein or CRP, a ... variation and therefore runs in families. heredity and Kidney Disease The same twin pool study revealed the influence of heredity on renal protein (albumin) excretion. Excretion ...

Elucidation of the genome for diabetics with DNA chips

... number of diabetics is linked to the obesity epidemic, which currently affects 1.1 thousand million people, including 150 million children. However, heredity also makes a major contribution to the development of DT2. Abnormalities in insulin secretion appear very early in the children of diabetic parents. ...

Molecular 'signature' protects cells from viruses

... produces a whole arsenal of proteins. The instruction what is to be built comes from the cell nucleus: this is where the DNA is stored, the heredity molecule in which, so to speak, the construction blueprints for all cellular proteins are stored. If a particular protein is to be produced, the ...

Weizmann Institute scientists discover a molecular security mechanism for keeping mutations in check

... Everyone knows mutations ?genetic mistakes in DNA, the material of heredity ?are bad: The more mutations in the cell's DNA, the higher the risk of cancer developing. But in the last few years it has become clear that the very ...

Study finds that a woman's chances of having twins can be modified by diet

... in these demographic groups parallel the IGF levels. "This study shows for the first time that the chance of having twins is affected by both heredity and environment, or in other words, by both nature and nurture," said Dr. Steinman. These findings are similar to those observed in cows by other ...

Impressive new Impact Factors for BioMed Central's open-access journals

... an Impact Factor of 9.71. The journal's first Impact Factor places it in the top five of research journals in the highly competitive Genetics and heredity field, and the 4th most cited journal in the Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology. Matthew Cockerill, BioMed Central's Publisher, comments, ...

In a technical tour de force, Salk scientists take a global view of the epigenome

... analysis of the human genome, stem cell biology and therapeutic cloning. Their findings will appear in a forthcoming issue of Cell. Our view of heredity has largely been written in the language of DNA, but recent discoveries in a field known as epigenetics - the study of heritable changes in gene ...

Utah researchers confirm chromosome may harbor autism gene

... to be a good candidate for being linked to autism. They're now looking at other genes for a connection to the disorder. Published in Human heredity online, the study is part of the Utah Autism Research Project. The researchers are interested in finding more families with a history of autism to ...

Novel molecular 'signature' marks DNA of embryonic stem cells

... approach could be a key strategy for keeping crucial genes quiet, but primed for when they will be most needed." Although most people think of heredity in terms of DNA and the genes encoded by it, chromatin also carries inherited instructions known as "epigenetic" information. Thus, the chromatin ...

Papers of DNA Pioneer and Nobel Laureate Francis Crick Added to National Library of Medicine’s Profiles in Science Web Site

... insights of Crick, and his collaborator, James D. Watson, into the structure of DNA and into the genetic code made possible a new understanding of heredity at the molecular level. “Major current advances in science and biotechnology, such as genetic engineering, the mapping of the human genome, and ...