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Trio of genes supercharged human brain evolution

Trio of genes supercharged human brain evolution
Three nearly identical genes could help explain how 0.5 liters of gray matter in early human ancestors became the 1.4-liter organ that has made our species so successful and distinctive. The newly identified genes could also help explain how brain development sometimes goes wrong, leading to neurological disorders. The genes, descendants of an ancient developmental…
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Secret to longevity may lie in the microbiome and the gut

Secret to longevity may lie in the microbiome and the gut
You are what you eat. Or so the saying goes. Science now tells us that we are what the bacteria living in our intestinal tract eat and this could have an influence on how well we age. Building on this, McGill University scientists fed fruit flies with a combination of probiotics and an herbal supplement…
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Hurricanes: Stronger, slower, wetter in the future?

Hurricanes: Stronger, slower, wetter in the future?
Scientists have developed a detailed analysis of how 22 recent hurricanes would be different if they formed under the conditions predicted for the late 21st century. While each storm's transformation would be unique, on balance, the hurricanes would become a little stronger, a little slower-moving, and a lot wetter. In one example, Hurricane Ike --…
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Genome structure of dinosaurs discovered by bird-turtle comparisons

Genome structure of dinosaurs discovered by bird-turtle comparisons
A discovery by scientists at the University of Kent has provided significant insight into the overall genome structure of dinosaurs. By comparing the genomes of different species, chiefly birds and turtles, the Kent team were able to determine how the overall genome structure (i.e. the chromosomes) of many people's favourite dinosaur species -- like Velociraptor…
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Ancient skull shows early ‘baleen whale’ had teeth

Ancient skull shows early ‘baleen whale’ had teeth
Today's baleen whales (Mysticetes) support their massive bodies by filtering huge volumes of small prey from seawater using comb-like baleen in their mouths much like a sieve. But new evidence reported in the journal Current Biology on May 10 based on careful analysis of a 34-million-year-old whale skull from Antarctica -- the second-oldest "baleen" whale ever found…
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Cocoa CRISPR: Gene editing shows promise for improving the ‘chocolate tree’

Cocoa CRISPR: Gene editing shows promise for improving the ‘chocolate tree’
Use of the powerful gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 could help to breed cacao trees that exhibit desirable traits such as enhanced resistance to diseases, according to Penn State plant scientists. The cacao tree, which grows in tropical regions, produces the cocoa beans that are the raw material of chocolate. Reliable productivity from cacao plants is essential…
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Jurassic fossil tail tells of missing link in crocodile family tree

Jurassic fossil tail tells of missing link in crocodile family tree
A 180-million-year-old fossil has shed light on how some ancient crocodiles evolved into dolphin-like animals. The specimen -- featuring a large portion of backbone -- represents a missing link in the family tree of crocodiles, and was one of the largest coastal predators of the Jurassic Period, researchers say. The newly discovered species was nearly…
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Forty-four genomic variants linked to major depression

Forty-four genomic variants linked to major depression
A new meta-analysis of more than 135,000 people with major depression and more than 344,000 controls has identified 44 genomic variants, or loci, that have a statistically significant association with depression. Of these 44 loci, 30 are newly discovered while 14 had been identified in previous studies. In addition, the study identified 153 significant genes,…
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