Evolution News and Research

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First real-time observation of DNA-histone interactions

The genetic material of most organisms is carried by DNA, a complex organic molecule. DNA is very long -- for humans, the molecule is estimated to be about 2 m in length.

2 Jun 2021

Study reveals how cells respond to changes in the mechanical microenvironment

The mechanical properties of the cellular microenvironment in the body are sensed and responded to by cells.

27 May 2021

Researchers discover new genes and functionalities in bovine genome

Modern genetic research often works with what are known as reference genomes. Such a genome comprises data from DNA sequences that scientists have assembled as a representative example of the genetic makeup of a species.

27 May 2021

Study shows that higher treeless areas are home to far more species

Normally, mountain forests are among the most diverse habitats in alpine regions. Yet, as a team from the Alfred Wegener Institute discovered in the Tibetan Plateau, the higher, treeless areas are home to far more species.

20 May 2021

Study shows that Bubonic Plague had a long-term impact on immune gene expression

A new study shows that the Bubonic Plague has had a long-term impact on immune gene expression.

20 May 2021

Wild relatives of modern peanut plants can withstand diseases

The wild relatives of modern peanut plants have the ability to withstand disease in ways that peanut plants can't. The genetic diversity of these wild relatives means that they can shrug off the diseases that kill farmers' peanut crops, but they also produce tiny nuts that are difficult to harvest because they burrow deep in the soil.

From University of Georgia 19 May 2021

Cells within the center of a tumor have the highest chance of spreading around the body

Researchers from the Francis Crick Institute, Royal Marsden, UCL and Cruces University Hospital have found that cells from different parts of kidney tumors behave differently, and surprisingly, cells within the center of a tumor are the most aggressive and have the highest chance of spreading around the body.

18 May 2021

Plant eaters diversified quickly after mass extinctions to eat different kinds of plants

Researchers at the University of Bristol found that plant eaters diversified quickly after mass extinctions to eat different kinds of plants, and the ones that were able to chew harsher materials, which reflected the drying conditions of the late Triassic, became the most successful. These tougher herbivores included some of the first dinosaurs.

17 May 2021

Scientists shed light on the origins of Mimivirus and other giant viruses

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay shed light on the origins of Mimivirus and other giant viruses, helping us better understand a group of unique biological forms that shaped life on earth.

17 May 2021

Research group reveals the essential role of Knl1 gene in plants

Dr. HAN Fangpu's group from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences reports the identification and functional study of the maize Knl1 gene in an article published online in PNAS.

12 May 2021

The history of the Amazon Basin affects the distribution of manatees

All three species of manatee now present on Earth share a common ancestor from which they split some 6.5 million years ago, when a huge lake in Amazonia, then linked to the Caribbean, was cut off from the sea.

11 May 2021

São Tomé island has two different species of caecilians, shows new study

The Gulf of Guinea islands harbor an abundance of species found nowhere else on Earth. But for over 100 years, scientists have wondered whether or not a population of limbless, burrowing amphibians--known as caecilians--found on one of the islands is a single or multiple species.

11 May 2021

Genomic Analysis for the Conservation of Koalas

In this interview, AZoLifeSciences speaks to Professor Parwinder Kaur about her latest research that uses genomic analysis for the conservation of koalas.

From The University of Western Australia 10 May 2021

Study suggests that bubonic plague had long-term impact on human immune genes

Scientists examining the remains of 36 bubonic plague victims from a 16th century mass grave in Germany have found the first evidence that evolutionary adaptive processes, driven by the disease, may have conferred immunity on later generations of people from the region.

7 May 2021