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UrduThe NSF grant will enable scientists to elucidate trait evolution across species using statistical and supervised machine learning approaches to vigorously and accurately predict general and specific evolutionary mechanisms that also will be applicable to various genomic and transcriptomic data for evolutionary discovery.
Tag: Evolutionary Biology
Evolutionary ‘time travel’ reveals enzyme’s origins, possible future designs
“The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion,” Albert Einstein wrote. Now, researchers have used evolutionary “time travel” to study how an enzyme has evolved, with implications for future design. They will present their results at ACS Fall 2021.
The future of personalized medicine is in unlocking the hidden mechanism that controls which genes are activated, researcher says
New research by McMaster University evolutionary biologist Rama Singh suggests there is a layer hidden in our cells that controls how genes interact, and how the many billions of possible combinations produce certain results.
Climate change is driving plant die-offs in Southern California, UCI study finds
Irvine, Calif., June 21, 2021 – A shift is happening in Southern California, and this time it has nothing to do with earthquakes. According to a new study by scientists at the University of California, Irvine, climate change is altering the number of plants populating the region’s deserts and mountains. Using data from the Landsat satellite mission and focusing on an area of nearly 5,000 square miles surrounding Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, the research team found that between 1984 and 2017, vegetation cover in desert ecosystems decreased overall by about 35 percent, with mountains seeing a 13 percent vegetation decline.
Tulane professor has the latest buzz on cicadas
When biologist Keith Clay came to Tulane University in July 2018, he brought with him an impressive knowledge of periodical cicadas, the noisy bug that has emerged by the billions in states east of the Mississippi after 17 years underground.…
Awaiting the W.H. UFO report: Kelly Smith explores the social/conceptual/ethical issues surrounding life in space
UFO’s may be evidence of aliens or not – we’ll have to see what the White House report says. Clemson philosopher and biologist Kelly Smith examines these issues and more. He is one of the leaders in the emerging community of scholars dedicated…
Morphogenesis: Geometry, Physics, and Biology – L. Mahadevan webcast
On Wednesday, May 5 at 7 pm ET, Perimeter Institute presents a special public talk by Harvard University’s L. Mahadevan, who will explain how the intersections of physics, biology, and mathematics are unveiling the amazing complexity of life.
New Approach Helps Determine How Much Microbial Community Composition Is Driven by Selection and How Much by Chance
Quantifying the relative importance of natural selection, migration, and random shifts to a species is a major challenge in ecology research, especially for microbes. This study develops an approach named iCAMP that is based on the concept that different processes can govern different groups of species in a diverse community. Applied to grassland microbial communities, iCAMP revealed that environmental changes altered the relative importance of the ecological processes.
New Blueprint of Brain Connections Reveals Extensive Reach of Central Regulator
In a new article published in Nature Communications, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers show how the location of the tumor and spatial constraints put on it by the surrounding tissue architecture impact genetic heterogeneity of tumors.
Scientists describe earliest primate fossils
A new study published Feb. 24 in the journal Royal Society Open Science documents the earliest-known fossil evidence of primates. These creatures lived less than 150,000 years after the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction event that killed off non-avian dinosaurs and saw the rise of mammals.
Study: ‘Hidden’ genes could be key in development of new antibiotics
A study from the Center for Phage Technology, part of Texas A&M’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Texas A&M AgriLife Research, shows how the “hidden” genes in bacteriophages — types of viruses that infect and destroy bacteria — may be key to the development of a new class of antibiotics for human health.
How and why microbes promote and protect against stress
The bacteria, yeast and viruses that make up the human microbiome affect physical health, behavior and emotions. Some microbes in the human microbiome prosper when the body is under stress, while other microbes contribute to buffering the body against stress. Evolutionary theory suggests reciprocal relationships between microbes in the human body and stress; these relationships can possibly be harnessed to promote physical and mental health.
Mud-slurping chinless ancestors had all the moves
A team of researchers, led by the University of Bristol, has revealed our most ancient ancestors were ecologically diverse, despite lacking jaws and paired fins.
Tail regeneration in lungfish provides insight into evolution of limb regrowth
A new study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B from researchers at the University of Chicago and Universidade Federal do Pará explores regenerative ability in the tails of West African lungfish for the first time, and finds that the process shares many of the same traits as tail regeneration in salamanders. Their results indicate that this trait was likely found in a common ancestor – and provide a new opportunity for better understanding and harnessing the mechanisms of limb regrowth.
Erika Hersch-Green Wins CAREER Award for Biodiversity Research
Erika Hersch-Green is studying how increasing amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus in terrestrial ecosystems lead to decreasing biodiversity, not only among plant species, but in herbivores and pollinators as well.
Human pregnancy is weird. A new study adds to the mystery
University at Buffalo and University of Chicago scientists set out to investigate the evolution of a gene that helps women stay pregnant: the progesterone receptor gene. The results come from an analysis of the DNA of 115 mammalian species.
Modern humans, Neanderthals share a tangled genetic history, study affirms
A new study reinforces the concept that Neanderthal DNA has been woven into the modern human genome on multiple occasions as our ancestors met Neanderthals time and again in different parts of the world.
PECASE Honoree Sohini Ramachandran Studies the Genetic Foundations of Traits in Diverse Populations
NIGMS grantee and presidential award recipient Sohini Ramachandran, Ph.D., is challenging our understanding of genetic variation among human populations. She discusses her research on how the genetic composition of traits and diseases varies among populations, the value of statistical and computational work in human genetics, and what this all means for patient treatment.
UTEP Introduces Bachelor’s Degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
The new degree is the campus’ latest effort in an ongoing mission of providing competitive academic and research opportunities at one of the most reasonable prices for a U.S. top tier university.
How the Texas puma saved the Florida panther
Scientists have pieced together the first complete picture of the Florida panther genome – work that could serve to protect that endangered population and other endangered species going forward.