Unravel DNA with Citizen Science
You can help collect data for studies of DNA by mailing researchers your dog’s saliva, samples of the forest floor, and even spiny anteater scat.
Read MoreTag: genetics
Asthma, Genetics, and the Environment
By Emily Folk @EmilySFolk The relationship between asthma and genetics has evaded scientists for years. Researchers are still unraveling clues today, although they’ve made many advancements in making the connection. Environmental influences have become more significant in their impact, posing new challenges in treating the disease. As scientists explore ways to enhance asthma treatment, they also work to uncover its causes, hoping for more information on its relatively vague origin. How does asthma work? Asthma is an inflammatory lung disease characterized by shortness of breath, chest tightening, coughing, and wheezing.…
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Depression: In Our Genes or All In Our Heads?
By Mary McMillan (@maryemcmillan) World Health Organization estimated that more than 300 million people around the world are currently affected by depression. That’s just over 4 percent of the world’s population. Despite how serious this disorder is and the huge numbers of people that suffer from it, there is still a lot of stigma associated with having depression, and people often misunderstand what causes it (Jorm, 2000). You may have heard people say that depression is all in someone’s head and that they should just get over it. However, scientists…
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Is Height All In Our Genes?
Dr. Joe Hanson is tall. Most of the people in his family are tall. Does that mean his son will be tall? Turns out the inheritance of height is a lot more complicated than we thought. Scientists know that nature (genes) and nurture (environment) both play a role, but after more than a century of questions, we’re only just now starting to get some answers. [tweetthis]Is height a genetic trait, like eye color? Find out on this episode of @okaytobesmart.[/tweetthis] In this episode of It’s Okay to Be Smart, learn…
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Science with Sophie: Dogs
Do dogs really exist? Okay, we know dogs really exist. But how do you know if something really exists if you can’t see it? On this episode of Science with Sophie, Sophie explores why it’s so important to do your own research, as well as how genetic traits as passed down. And as a bonus, you’ll learn all about the history of dogs, complete with at least five different canine cameos. Do the science experiment with Sophie To do the science experiment, you’ll need these things: something to write on something…
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DNA Analysis Reveals Four Distinct Giraffe Species
By Katherine Lindemann Researchers have long recognized only a single species of giraffe, thought to be made up of several subspecies. However, a research collaboration has now identified four distinct species. Conservation biologist Julian Fennessy of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, geneticist Axel Janke of the Senckenberg Research Institute, and their colleagues collected and analyzed samples from giraffes across the African continent. Their results appear in the journal Current Biology. ResearchGate: When and why did you start genetically testing giraffes across Africa? Julian Fennessy: When I approached Axel Janke to help…
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Only Three Isle Royale Wolves Remain
Wolves are pack animals, yet on the Isle of Royale National Park (located in Lake Superior) only three wolves remain. Researchers from Michigan Technological University observed the wolves during the annual Winter Study, and the lone trio appears to be all that is left of the nine Isle Royale wolves seen last winter. The park offers outstanding possibilities for research in a remote ecosystem, and the annual report of the Ecological Study of Wolves on Isle Royale, released today, marks the project’s 57th year of observing Isle Royale wolves and…
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Tapeworm Removed from Man’s Brain
Doctors in the UK recently removed a very rare tapeworm from a man’s brain that had been living there for four years. During its residency, the worm traveled five centimeters from one side of the brain to the other before it was detected and removed. Following the successful operation, a team took the opportunity to sequence the genome of this rare and poorly understood parasite. The tapeworm, Spirometra erinaceieuropaei, has been reported only 300 times worldwide since 1953 and never before in the UK. The parasite causes sparganosis: inflammation of…
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Red Fox Genome Examined
Researchers at University of California, Davis are studying the genome of the red fox, the world’s most widely distributed land carnivore. Some surprising findings about the origins, journey and evolution of the red fox have come to light. The new genetic research suggests that the first red foxes originated in the Middle East before beginning their journey of colonization across Eurasia to Siberia, across the Bering Strait and into North America. Reproductively speaking, the red foxes of North America and Eurasia have been almost entirely isolated from one another for around 400,000 years.…
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