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Tag: "evolution" at biology news

Novel protein complex enables survival in hostile environment

...original work provides important insights into the evolution of the methanogens. These organisms have often bee...ral questions that are important in the context of evolution of metabolism and enzyme mechanism," Mukhopadhyay said. "We do not know whether the splitting of the...

Missing fossil link 'Dallasaurus' found

...in. Dallasaurus represents a missing link in the evolution of a group of creatures called mosasaurs, prehisto...es have been made in the understanding of mosasaur evolution and how they lived. Dallasaurus significantly advances that understanding by filling in a long missi...

Same-sex mating by fungi spawned infection outbreak, evidence suggests

...gen's expansion may provide a useful model for the evolution of infectious diseases and parasites more generally, they said. The team reported its findings October 9, 2005, in an advanced online publication of Nature. The work was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. After e...

Plant defenses prompt bacterial countermeasure in the form of 'island' DNA excision

...me the host plant's specific defenses. Throughout evolution ?in the wild and in crops cultivated by humans ?pl...plant resistance mechanisms can directly drive the evolution of new virulent forms of a bacterial pathogen. ...

'Perception' gene tracked humanity's evolution, scientists say

...r primates, and this difference coincides with the evolution of our species, say scientists at Indiana Universi...egulation of this gene was likely important in the evolution of modern humans' mental capacity." Prodynorphin is a precursor molecule of the neurotransmitters ...

Key brain regulatory gene shows evolution in humans

...brain regulatory gene that shows clear evidence of evolution from lower primates to humans. They said the evolution of humans might well have depended in part on hyperactivation of the gene, called prodynorphin (PDYN...

Wild Gorillas Handy with a Stick

... supporting the notion that ecology influences the evolution of novel tool use. Though Mbeli Bai gorillas often use intact branches to help them get around, the authors explain, these are the first observations of wild gorillas using detached objects as tools. However the gorillas acquired their skills, these ...

Fitting in: Newly evolved genes adopt a variety of strategies to remain in the gene pool

...plicated genes provides insight into mechanisms of evolution When Mother Nature creates an identical copy of a gene in an organism's genome, the duplicated copy is usually deleted, inactivated, or otherwise rendered nonfunctional in order to prevent genetic redundancy and to preserve biological homeostasis. ...

Scientists sequence DNA of woolly mammoth

...ant, animal, and man that can illuminate the route evolution took on its way from the past to the present, and that can perhaps clarify the role environmental changes did play in the extinction of an entire species. Initial funding for this study was provided by McMaster University, The Natural Sciences and E...

Leading lampreys to slaughter: Pheromone for scourge of Great Lakes identified

..., dating back nearly 400 million years, before the evolution of jaws and bony skeletons. The species parasitizes other fish by attaching with their circular, toothy mouths and sucking the body juices. A single lamprey will feed for about a year, consuming on average 40 pounds of fish. In the Great Lakes, their...

Scientists narrow the time limits for the human and chimpanzee split

...or understanding -- in a more general sense -- the evolution of intelligent life." Walker, a paleoanthropologist and Evan Pugh Professor of Biological Anthropology and Biology at Penn State, has discovered and studied fossil hominids and other primate species that pertain to the question of the human-chimp di...

Jefferson scientists identify gene defect leading to abnormal skin development and cancer

..., dating back nearly 400 million years, before the evolution of jaws and bony skeletons. The species parasitizes other fish by attaching with their circular, toothy mouths and sucking the body juices. A single lamprey will feed for about a year, consuming on average 40 pounds of fish. In the Great Lakes, their...

Why we give: New study finds evidence of generosity among our early human ancestors

...societies ?a classic context for understanding the evolution of conditional cooperation in humans. "Without some kind of payback, altruism can be a very costly endeavor in small-scale societies subsisting on wild foods," Gurven writes. "This study shows that people indeed share more with those who give more ...

'Creationism is not science' ?making the case for Darwin at UCL

...nce classes and the teaching of Darwin's theory of evolution has been banned from many schools across America. Professor Ruse said: "I think creationism is a part of a bigger movement to a conservative evangelical Christianity world view -- I don't think we evolutionists have been as responsive as we should h...

Lateral thinking produces first map of gene transmission

A University of Queensland study mapping the evolution of genes has shed light on the role of gene transfer in bacterial diseases. The study, published recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, was conducted by three scientists at UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience. Dr Rob...

Scientists fetch useful information from dog genome publications

...nformation. "We present a new model of chromosome evolution that accounts for the extensive breakage seen in the dog genome," explains Webber. "Our results demonstrate that dog chromosomes have not broken randomly, which is the commonly held view, but instead that they preferentially fracture within ancient ...

Dog genome sequenced

...nformation. "We present a new model of chromosome evolution that accounts for the extensive breakage seen in the dog genome," explains Webber. "Our results demonstrate that dog chromosomes have not broken randomly, which is the commonly held view, but instead that they preferentially fracture within ancient ...

Why the Amazon rainforest is so rich in species

...ieve that biology played a far greater role in the evolution of species than external factors like prehistoric ...eactions to the environment dictate the pattern of evolution in each group." Professor Mallet and PhD student Alaine Whinnett tested the "DNA clock" using the ...

Marsupial genome reveals insights into mammalian evolution

...access journal PLoS Biology. The paper details the evolution of an important cluster of immune genes known as the MHC using available genome sequences of the gray, short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica), a marsupial found in South America. "Mapping the opossum MHC has allowed us to deduce what the MHC...

Embryos tell story of Earth's earliest animals

Much of what scientists learn about the evolution of Earth's first animals will have to be gleaned f...said. "Embryo size tells us a great deal about the evolution and development of these organisms." The fertilization envelope, a semi-hard membrane that surroun...

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