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Categories: Anthropology: General, Biology: Biotechnology
Published Researchers discuss the ethical challenges of studying DNA from a 18th--19th century African American community
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A population genetics team recently identified the genetic relationship between over 40,000 23andMe users and a population of enslaved and free African Americans that lived in Catoctin Furnace, Maryland between 1776--1850. Over the course of this study, the researchers considered how best to inform descendants and other genetic relatives of their genetic connection to the site.
Published 'Time-traveling' pathogens in melting permafrost pose likely risk to environment
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ancient pathogens that escape from melting permafrost have real potential to damage microbial communities and might potentially threaten human health, according to a new study.
Published New insights into the origin of the Indo-European languages
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team of linguists and geneticists has achieved a significant breakthrough in our understanding of the origins of Indo-European, a family of languages spoken by nearly half of the world's population.
Published Family trees from the European Neolithic
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Neolithic burial site of Gurgy 'les Noisats' in France revealed two unprecedentedly large family trees which allowed a Franco-German team to explore the social organization of the 6,700-year-old community. Based on multiple lines of evidence, the team describes a close kin group which practiced monogamy and female exogamy, and experienced generally stable times.
Published Butterflies and moths share ancient 'blocks' of DNA
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Butterflies and moths share 'blocks' of DNA dating back more than 200 million years, new research shows.
Published Giant stone artefacts found on rare Ice Age site in Kent, UK
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered some of the largest early prehistoric stone tools in Britain.
Published Researchers develop digital test to directly measure HIV viral load
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A milliliter of blood contains about 15 individual drops. For a person with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), each drop of blood could contain anywhere from fewer than 20 copies of the virus to more than 500,000 copies. Called the viral load, this is what is measured to allow clinicians to understand how patients are responding to anti-viral medications and monitor potential progression. The time-consuming viral load testing needs to be repeated several times as a patient undergoes treatment. Now, a research team has developed a time and cost-efficient digital assay that can directly measure the presence of HIV in single drop of blood.
Published Humans' evolutionary relatives butchered one another 1.45 million years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have identified the oldest decisive evidence of humans' close evolutionary relatives butchering and likely eating one another.
Published Extinct warbler's genome sequenced from museum specimens
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Bachman's warbler, a songbird that was last seen in North America nearly 40 years ago, was a distinct species and not a hybrid of its two living sister species, according a new study in which the full genomes of seven museum specimens of the bird were sequenced.
Published Drug decelerates bacterial race to antibiotic resistance
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers report that, in laboratory cultures and animal models, a drug significantly reduces the ability of bacteria to develop antibiotic resistance, which might prolong antibiotic effectiveness.
Published Lessons in sustainability, evolution and human adaptation -- courtesy of the Holocene
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The El Gigante rockshelter in western Honduras is among only a handful of archaeological sites in the Americas that contain well-preserved botanical remains spanning the last 11,000 years. Considered one of the most important archaeological sites discovered in Central America in the last 40 years, El Gigante was recently nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Published Researcher uses pressure to understand RNA dynamics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Just as space holds infinite mysteries, when we zoom in at the level of biomolecules (one trillion times smaller than a meter), there is still so much to learn. Scientists are studying the conformational landscapes of biomolecules and how they modulate cell function. When biomolecules receive certain inputs, it can cause the atoms to rearrange and the biomolecule to change shape. This change in shape affects their function in cells, so understanding conformational dynamics is critical for drug development.
Published 'We're all Asgardians': New clues about the origin of complex life
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source According to a new study, eukaryotes -- complex life forms with nuclei in their cells, including all the world's plants, animals, insects and fungi -- trace their roots to a common Asgard archaean ancestor. That means eukaryotes are, in the parlance of evolutionary biologists, a 'well-nested clade' within Asgard archaea, similar to how birds are one of several groups within a larger group called dinosaurs, sharing a common ancestor.
Published The molecular control center of our protein factories
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have deciphered a biochemical mechanism that ensures that newly formed proteins are processed correctly when they leave the cell's own protein factories. This solves a decade-old puzzle in protein sorting.
Published The clue is in the glue -- Nature's secret for holding it together
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An obscure aquatic plant has helped to explain how plants avoid cracking up under the stresses and strains of growth.
Published Studying herpes encephalitis with mini-brains
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The herpes simplex virus-1 can sometimes cause a dangerous brain infection. Combining an anti-inflammatory and an antiviral could help in these cases, report scientists.
Published Unraveling the connections between the brain and gut
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers designed a technology to probe connections between the brain and the digestive tract. Using fibers embedded with a variety of sensors, as well as optogenetic stimulation, the researchers could control neural circuits connecting the gut and the brain, in mice.
Published A roadmap for gene regulation in plants
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For the first time, researchers have developed a genome-scale way to map the regulatory role of transcription factors, proteins that play a key role in gene expression and determining a plant's physiological traits. Their work reveals unprecedented insights into gene regulatory networks and identifies a new library of DNA parts that can be used to optimize plants for bioenergy and agriculture.
Published Cave excavation pushes back the clock on early human migration to Laos
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fifteen years of archaeological work in the Tam Pa Ling cave in northeastern Laos has yielded a reliable chronology of early human occupation of the site. The team's excavations through the layers of sediments and bones that gradually washed into the cave and were left untouched for tens of thousands of years reveals that humans lived in the area for at least 70,000 years -- and likely even longer.
Published Now, every biologist can use machine learning
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have built a new, comprehensive AutoML platform designed for biologists with little to no ML experience. New automated machine learning platform enables easy, all-in-one analysis, design, and interpretation of biological sequences with minimal coding. Their platform, called BioAutoMATED, can use sequences of nucleic acids, peptides, or glycans as input data, and its performance is comparable to other AutoML platforms while requiring minimal user input.