Researchers successfully produce genome-edited pigs using revolutionary...
Eighteen piglets born recently are the result of two years of intense research by scientists in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Maryland and represent a...
View ArticleStudy points the way toward producing rubber from lettuce
Prickly lettuce, a common weed that has long vexed farmers, has potential as a new cash crop providing raw material for rubber production, according to Washington State University scientists.
View ArticleResearchers take new approach to determine historical population fluctuations
(Phys.org)—A pair of researches with the University of Texas has used a new method to infer historical human population size fluctuations based on Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) data. In their...
View ArticleImportant study of how climate affects biodiversity
How does climate change affect the occurrence and distribution of species? This is a key question in the climate debate, and one that is hard to answer without information about natural variation in...
View ArticleGene required for plant growth at warmer temperatures discovered
Researchers have discovered a new gene that enables plants to regulate their growth in different temperatures.
View ArticleResearchers use CRISPR to create 'kill switch' for GMOs
(Phys.org)—A pair of researchers at MIT has developed what amounts to a "kill switch" for genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In their paper published in the journal Nature Communications, Brian...
View ArticleStudy suggests genetic basis for same-sex sexual behavior offers evolutionary...
(Phys.org)—A trio of researchers with the University of St. Andrews in the U.K. has found what appears to be an evolutionary advantage for same-sex sexual behavior in fruit flies. In their paper...
View ArticleDNA which only females have
In many animal species, the chromosomes differ between the sexes. The male has a Y chromosome. In some animals, however, for example birds, it is the other way round. In birds, the females have their...
View ArticleEvolution study finds massive genome shift in one generation
A team of biologists from Rice University, the University of Notre Dame and three other schools has discovered that an agricultural pest that began plaguing U.S. apple growers in the 1850s likely did...
View ArticleGenetic switch lets marine diatoms do less work at higher CO2
Diatoms in the world's oceans exhale more oxygen than all the world's rainforests. These tiny drifting algae generate about 20 percent of the oxygen produced on Earth each year and invisibly recycle...
View ArticleTiger-spray DNA shown as valuable conservation tool
Conservation scientists have demonstrated a new technique to non-invasively survey tigers using their scent sprays, which are detected much more frequently in the wild than scat—the "breadcrumb" that...
View ArticleScientists pinpoint gene for better rice
Scientists said Monday they had pinpointed variants of a gene to improve the quality and yield of rice, a staple starch for billions of people.
View ArticleResearchers show how historical contingencies constrained evolution of a...
A team of researchers with the University of California has found a way to show how historical contingencies constrained the evolution of a gene regulatory network. In their paper published in the...
View ArticleDeceptive woodpecker uses mimicry to avoid competition
Birds of a feather may flock together, but that doesn't mean they share a genetic background. Though birds were first classified into groups primarily based on appearance, research forthcoming in The...
View ArticleThe potential in your pond
Scientists at the John Innes Centre have discovered that Euglena gracilis, the single cell algae which inhabits most garden ponds, has a whole host of new, unclassified genes which can make new forms...
View ArticleModern pigs found to have more wild boar genes than thought
(Phys.org)—An international team of researchers has found that domesticated pigs in Europe have a lot more wild boar in them than has been thought. In their paper published in Nature Genetics, the team...
View ArticleHigh-fat diet made Inuits healthier but shorter thanks to gene mutations,...
For evolutionary biologists, the best experiments are those already going on in nature. The different conditions in which humans have lived for tens of thousands of years have made us adapt and change....
View ArticleCould contaminated land actually be good for trees?
The very act of tolerating some forms of soil pollution may give trees an advantage in the natural world, says University of Montreal plant biologists. Their findings were published this week in BMC...
View ArticleCRISPR technique allows for gene splicing without introducing foreign DNA bits
(Phys.org)—A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in South Korea has found a way to introduce an enzyme into a cell using the CRISPR technique without having to use a bacterial...
View ArticleThe modern, molecular hunt for the world's biodiversity
The news is full of announcements about newly discovered forms of life. This fall, we learned of a 30,000-year-old giant virus found in frozen Siberia. Until now, known viruses have contained so little...
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