Genetic | Common News Update

Jul302021 by adminNo Comments

Without genetic variation, asexual invasive species have to find other ways to adapt

Science

July 30 (UPI) -- Invasive all-female weevils pass along epigenetic changes to their offspring, helping them adapt to new environs, according to a new study. Across most of the animal kingdom, an organism's ability to adapt and evolve is largely dependent on genetic variation. Sufficient genetic diversity makes it more likely that favorable traits will emerge and proliferate as the fittest specimens populate subsequent generations. Some species, however, reproduce asexually, which means their genetic reservoir is limited. So how do they adapt to new environs? To find out, researchers collected specimens of two asexually reproducing, invasive weevil species, Naupactus cervinus and N. leucoloma, from Florida, California and Argentina. Despite sharing the exact same DNA, research...

Mar222021 by adminNo Comments

Competition leaves a permanent genetic imprint on the brains of songbirds

Science

March 22 (UPI) -- New research suggests a single competitive interaction can leave a lasting genetic impression on the brains of songbirds. Competition for territory, mates and prey drive evolution, but evolutionary changes are often only visible across vast timescales. Advertisement Scientists at Indiana University wanted to find out how competition inspires genetic changes among individual songbirds. In previous experiments, researchers found frequent competition alters gene expression in the brains of birds, inspiring more aggressive behavior -- perhaps, preparing birds for future competitive bouts. For the latest study, published this week in the journal PNAS, researchers worked to zoom in on these short-term changes in order to better understand how competition in the short-term ins...

Mar132021 by adminNo Comments

Study: Few ‘important’ genetic changes seen in COVID-19 since hop to humans

Health

March 12 (UPI) -- The genetic makeup of the coronavirus underwent few "important" changes during the first 11 months of the pandemic, despite the emergence of potentially dangerous new strains last fall, according to a study published Friday by PLOS Biology. After analyzing hundreds of thousands of sequenced virus genomes, researchers from the United States, Britain and Belgium documented little significant alteration in the virus' genetic structure since it jumped to humans. Advertisement This was the case until late in 2020 -- after nearly a year of the virus circulating widely among people in nearly every nation on Earth -- when new variants began to emerge as a result of limited immunity in people who'd already had the virus. The vaccines developed to fight off the virus should contin...

Jan12021 by adminNo Comments

Genetic mutations that cause malaria drug resistance common in Asia, Africa

Health

Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Genetic mutations that fuel resistance to a drug intended to prevent malaria in pregnant women and children are common in countries that are fighting the disease, according to a PLOS Genetics analysis. Mutations of a gene linked with resistance to the drug sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine in the parasite that causes malaria were discovered in one-fourth of the samples collected in southeast Asia and one-third of those obtained in Africa, the researchers said. Advertisement The growth in the number of malaria parasites with mutations to the gene pfgch1 are concerning because they may increase resistance to the drug, they said. "We need to understand how these mutations work and monitor them as part of malaria surveillance programs," study co-author Taane Clark, a professor of gen...

Nov122020 by adminNo Comments

Birds’ genetic secrets revealed in global DNA study

Science

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