Laryngeal paralysis is a serious and sometimes deadly disease in some dog breeds that prevents proper opening of the larynx for breathing. Specialists in canine head and neck surgery and geneticists have identify a mutation responsible for laryngeal paralysis in Miniature Bull Terriers, enabling the development of a genetic test for the disease.
Read moreTadpoles that can typically regrow amputated tails or limbs lost their ability to regenerate after researchers blocked the expression of a newly identified gene that is one of the drivers for this regrowth. Furthermore, scientists hypothesize that the loss of appendage regeneration in warm-blooded animals might have been caused by the gain or loss of this gene, dubbed c-Answer, in an ancestor's genome during evolution.
Read moreHuman population density and land use is causing changes in animal genetic diversity, according to new research. The research show that environmental changes caused by humans are leading to changes in genetic variation in thousands of species of birds, fish, insects, and mammals. The evidence for human impacts was most clear for insects and fish species.
Read moreWhether they occur on holiday routes or the daily commute, traffic jams affect cars as well as pedestrians. Scientists have demonstrated that ant colonies, however, are spared these problems and circulate easily, even in the event of extremely dense traffic, thus ensuring consistent efficiency in their foraging.
Read moreCentromeres are the chromosomal domains at which the kinetochore, a protein complex required for the correct separation of chromosomes during mitosis and meiosis, is assembled. The incorporation of the histone variant CenH3 into centromeric nucleosomes is a prerequisite for the proper assembly and function of the kinetochore. A new study describes the chaperone protein NASPSIM3 and how it affects the depositioning of CenH3.
Read moreThe first complete genetic sequences of individual mountain lions point the way to better conservation strategies for saving threatened populations of the wild animals.
Read moreReported from six counties in coastal Alabama in 2017, cotton blue disease affected approximately 25% of the state's cotton crop and caused a 4% yield loss. The disease was reported again in 2018, affecting 3-100% of cotton fields in Alabama but causing only a 1% yield loss. Symptoms, which include slowed plant growth, loss of chlorophyll, and dwarfing of infected leaves, usually do not appear until last August after full bloom. To date, there are no recommended strategies for management of this disease.
Read moreThe rise of dark forms of many species of moth in heavily polluted areas of 19th and 20th century Britain, known as industrial melanism, was a highly visible response to environmental change. But did the different species rely on the same gene to adapt? New research by the University of Liverpool reveals that three species of moth, including the famous peppered moth, indeed did.
Read moreA fast knee-jerk 'ballistic' escape response and a more considered 'delayed' escape response are mediated by distinct and parallel neuronal pathways in zebrafish, according to a new study.
Read moreResearchers have developed new insight on how the natural loss of foot muscles occurred in rodents and other species during their evolution.
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