Scientists isolate genes that imbue us with uniquely human traits

September 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The ability to manipulate songbird genes may yield secrets of vocal learning and how nerve cells (neurons) are replaced. For the first time, researchers have devised a way to alter the genes of the zebra finch, one of a handful of social animals that learn to "speak" by imitating their fellows.

September 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has determined that species living in restricted environments such as the tropics may lack adequate variation in their genes and be unable to adapt to climate change. Adaptation is a physiological or behavioural change that makes an organism better suited to its environment, and more likely to survive and reproduce.

September 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a remarkable piece of detective work, scientists working at Trinity College Dublin have discovered three genes that are unique to humans. In the study published online in Genome Research, boffins have made a crucial discovery of genes that have evolved in humans after branching off from other primates.

August 14th, 2009 MELBOURNE - A new research conducted by Australian scientists has shown that some female fish find different male traits attractive from year to year. According to the researchers, the changing preferences of female fish may play an important role in evolution.

July 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The sex chromosome that only males carry is deteriorating and could disappear within a few million years. A pair of Penn State University (PSU) scientists discovered that the male Y chromosome evolved at a much more rapid pace than X chromosome, which both males and females carry.

July 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research has revealed that the sex chromosome that only males carry is deteriorating and could disappear within a few million years. Scientists at Penn State University (PSU) found that the male Y chromosome evolved at a much more rapid pace than X chromosome, which both males and females carry.

July 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Practice makes perfect in music, but fresh evidence thrown up by research shows that for aspiring musicians, genes may also influence the outcome. Perfect pitch, also known as absolute pitch, is the rare ability to recognise and name musical notes without any reference pitch for comparison, detecting, for instance, A before middle C.

June 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists of the University of Almeria have genetically altered the castor-oil plant so as to use it as a factory to produce bio lubricants. The scientists identified and provided a series of genes that are responsible of the biosynthesis of lipids that can be used to obtain transgenic castor-oil plants with an acid profile appropriate for the different requirements of bio lubricants.

June 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers at the University of Leeds claim that they have discovered one of the mechanisms governing how physical features and behavioural traits among humans have evolved over centuries. When Charles Darwin proposed that such traits are passed from a parent to their offspring, with natural selection favouring those that give the greatest advantage for survival, the English naturalist did not have a scientific explanation for this process.

June 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - History and geography shape our genome, according to a new study. The movements of humans within and among continents, expansions and contractions of populations and vagaries of genetic chance, have influenced the distribution of genetic variations.

June 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research has shown that different genes can cause loss of body parts in similar fish, by comparing how 2 species of sticklebacks lost pelvises and body armor. The research, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Divisions of Environmental Biology and Integrative Organismal Systems, shows that when two species of stickleback fish evolved and lost their pelvises and body armor, different genes in each species caused the changes.

May 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Indiana University Bloomington researchers have challenged the age-old belief among evolutionary biologists that fundamental genes do not acquire new functions, reporting that two ancient genes were "co-opted" to help build a new trait in beetles - the fancy antlers that give horned beetles their name. Biologist Armin Moczek and research associate Debra Rose say that the genes, Distal-less and homothorax, touch most aspects of insect larval development, and have, therefore, been considered off-limits to the evolution of new traits.

April 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - University of Liverpool researchers have developed a novel method to help scientists identify genes that can help protect the body during the ageing process. The team developed a method of analysing genes in multiple ageing tissue types in both animals and humans.

March 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Genes from fireflies and jellyfish are virtually shedding light on possible causes of infertility and auto-immune diseases in humans. Auto-immune diseases are those in which something goes wrong with your immune system and it attacks healthy cells and tissues and makes you sick.

March 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers at Uppsala University, together with colleagues at Karolinska Institute and Sanger Institute, have identified three genes that would help determine the optimal dose of blood-thinning drug warfarin. The team led by Mia Wadelius have come across three genes VKORC1, CYP2C9, and CYP4F2 that would help determine adequate warfarin dosage.