It's not random, they say: Organisms can control own evolution
Princeton University Nov 12, 08 7:25 PM CST
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Princeton scientists say they have found evidence that organisms can essentially control their own evolution, a finding that could provide a fundamental shift in our understanding of Darwin's theory, reports the university's news service. The research suggests that evolution isn't entirely random, as Darwin believed. Rather, proteins within organisms constantly make self-correcting adaptations to bring about the fittest being.
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Bats, bedbugs, leeches, and mosquitoes have a common thirst
New York Times Oct 21, 08 8:25 PM CDT
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With Halloween nearly upon us, the author of new book on bloodsucking creatures—vampire bats, bedbugs, leeches, and the like—leads the New York Times on a sanguivore safari. The world's bloodthirsty creatures vary enormously, as Bill Schutt details in Dark Banquet , and some are mere dabblers, but many specialists have evolved similar equipment: clot busters, natural painkillers—and very sharp teeth.
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Virus, used in mice, repurposes adult cells with no risk of cancer
Boston Globe Sep 26, 08 3:34 PM CDT
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Scientists have discovered a safer way to turn adult cells into stem cells, the Boston Globe reports. The cells, similar to those harvested from embryos, are called induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells; Japanese researchers introduced the method 2 years ago. But the Japanese used retroviruses, which can cause cancer; the new research uses a different virus, which is safe.
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$3B effort to pinpoint disease-causing genes too broad,
Duke doc says
New York Times Sep 16, 08 11:40 CDT
(Newser)
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The idea behind mapping the human genome (and spending $3 billion to do so) was to uncover common gene variants that cause disease. But a Duke University geneticist says that natural selection has worked better than we thought, that there are no common variants but rather a multitude of rare ones, the New York Times reports.
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Movement aims to capitalize on American passion for invention
Boston Globe Sep 15, 08 12:28 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Just as individual computer experts can create new programs and technological movements from home, a new generation of scientists wants to make do-it-yourself biology a household activity. Sessions such as those teaching laypeople how to extract DNA show "how much science can be about duct tape and having a few screws in the right place," one "biohacker" tells the Boston Globe.
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The bizarre techniques behind the Scholium Project
San Francisco Chronicle Aug 8, 08 1:39 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Abe Schoener is reinvigorating California wines with a decidely unorthodox, almost experimental, approach, writes Jon Bonne in the San Francisco Chronicle . Schoener, who lacks formal training, eschews the traditional do's and don’ts of the craft with his Scholium Project winery. His wines "are bizarre, ingenious and polarizing—quite simply unlike anything else being made anywhere in this country," writes Bonne.
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Studies seek innate differences between gays and straights
Los Angeles Times Jun 16, 08 2:57 CDT
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Scientists are examining how homosexuality may affect everything from penis sizes to how one navigates new cities, reports the Los Angeles Times . Innate differences between gays and straights rooted in biology could lead researchers to discover the biological origins of sexual orientation.
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Seal only one of its kind to vanish because of human causes
MSNBC Jun 7, 08 4:47 PM CDT
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Caribbean monk seals, the sea dwellers first discovered during Columbus’s second voyage in 1494, are officially extinct—the only seal to vanish because of human causes, MSNBC reports. “Humans left the Caribbean monk seal population unsustainable after overhunting them,” a biologist explained. The seal, a native of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, hadn’t been spotted for 50 years.
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Gay relationships abound in animal kingdom
LiveScience May 19, 08 7:28 PM CDT
(Newser)
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It may throw a wrench in Noah's ark-stocking plans, but same-sex relationships appear in many animal species, reports LiveScience.com. The long list of animals that practice gay sex includes bears, penguins, gorillas, and dolphins, among others. But scientists question the act's evolutionary purpose, because it doesn't aid in reproduction. It may be an adaptation for nurturing offspring, or just a dry run.
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Voices found
to be most alluring
during ovulation
BBC May 2, 08 1:37 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Barflies take note: A woman's voice is sexiest when she's most fertile, a new study says. Scientists recorded women counting from 1 to 10 and found that their voices were rated most attractive when they were closest to ovulation, the BBC reports. What gives? Researchers aren't sure, but they speculate that hormones may affect the voice box.
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Cat likely from SD may yield clues about human overpopulation
Chicago Tribune May 1, 08 11:03 CDT
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A cougar shot April 14 in Chicago was spotted earlier in Wisconsin, DNA tests show, suggesting an epic trek. Now, scientists are eager to study the animal, hoping to learn more about how and why it migrated; they aim to pin down its ancestry in an effort to better understand how animals like it adjust to human populations, the Chicago Tribune reports.
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Once-private drafts, notes and even recipes of evolutionary scientist are free to public
BBC Apr 17, 08 4:48 PM CDT
(Newser)
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A vast collection of the papers of Charles Darwin is now online, providing public access to volumes once restricted to Cambridge scholars, the BBC reports. 20,000 items are available, including the first draft of his seminal book on evolution, travel notes and personal pieces such as family recipes, Reuters reports. “Darwin changed our understanding of nature forever,” says the project’s director.
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Even basic questions still have scientists scratching their heads
LiveScience Mar 16, 08 3:12 PM CDT
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Forget deep-space exploration; even basic questions about Earth still have scientists scratching their heads, LiveScience reports. A panel of geologists and planetary scientists lists its top lingering mysteries. How did Earth form into such a distinct body? What happened during Earth's first 500 million years? How did life start on this planet? What’s happening inside Earth and how does this affect the surface?
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Modified critters have voracious appetites but manage to stay thin
Guardian (UK) Nov 2, 07 1:45 PM CDT
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Scientists have made speedy super mice by flipping a genetic switch, reports the Guardian . The mice can run 30 times as far as regular mice, and they live longer and breed later. They also eat 60% more food than average mice but manage to stay leaner and possibly more resistant to cancer, say researchers at Case Western Reserve University.
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Rules of attraction haven't changed much
LiveScience Aug 25, 07 10:42 CDT
(Newser)
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The facial proportions of the average hot guy haven't changed much throughout human evolutionary history, finds a new study that compares contemporary human skulls with skulls from 2.6 million years ago. Women have been selecting for males with short, broad faces—think Brad Pitt and Will Smith—since the dawn of man, and chimps do the same.
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Women's attraction to redder hues linked
to evolution
Daily Telegraph (UK) Aug 21, 07 3:16 CDT
(Newser)
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Shocking news: Girls love pink. That love might not just be cultural—but linked to evolutionary development, researchers in a new study have concluded. Pink may have helped ancient women recognize ripe fruit and healthy men with ruddy faces, while both genders yearned for the blue of open skies and clear water, the Telegraph reports.
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