Genetic testing services let consumers analyze their DNA to learn about their heritage, their relatives, and their risk for certain heritable diseases. But access to such personal data hasn’t been without controversy, stoking privacy fears. A recent study in eLife … Continue reading
Journal Club
Highlighting recently published papers selected by Academy members
Category Archives: Genetics
Study uncovers new privacy worries for direct-to-consumer DNA testing
Categories: Genetics | Journal Club
Tagged data privacy, genetic testing, heritability
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Genome of “mile-a-minute weed” hints at the secrets to its invasive success
The weedy vine Mikania micrantha, originally from Central and South America, has become a worldwide menace. Thus far, it’s spread to tropical climes in China and Southeast Asia, Australia, and islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as … Continue reading
Categories: Environmental Sciences | Genetics | Journal Club | Plant Biology | Sustainability Science
Tagged carbon, genome, invasive species, Mikania micrantha, nitrogen, photosynthesis, stomata, transposon, weed
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Models shift blame for Neanderthal extinction away from modern humans
Neanderthals vanished about 40,000 years ago, but the reasons for their demise remain shrouded in mystery and a source of debate among archaeologists. The timing coincides with the arrival of modern humans in Europe, which has led some researchers to … Continue reading
Categories: Anthropology | Ecology | Evolution | Genetics | Journal Club | Population Biology
Tagged allele, breeding, evolution, extinction, Homo sapien, modern human, Neanderthal, population size
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Potentially key gene has big role in natural variation of chloroplast size
Worldwide populations of Arabidopsis thaliana all have the same genes, but they vary in many traits, including the size of their chloroplasts. A recent study in Plant Physiology identified one of the genes, FtsZ2-2, contributing to the natural variation in … Continue reading
Categories: Agriculture | Genetics | Journal Club
Tagged Arabidopsis, chloroplast, FtsZ
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Common features of domestic animals suggest caveats to evolutionary theory
White patches on fur coats, floppy ears, and curly tails are some of the traits frequently seen in domesticated animals. A group of researchers has now put forth a theory as to why these traits so often evolve in association … Continue reading
Categories: Agriculture | Developmental Biology | Evolution | Genetics | Journal Club
Tagged developmental bias, domesticated animals, domestication syndrome, evolution, neural crest cells
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Unlocking a mystery of seed development promises fatter, oilier oilseeds
The canola cooking oil lining supermarket shelves comes from the seeds of Brassica napus, a weedy-looking plant in the mustard family. Farmers of this crop understandably want varieties that yield big, oily seeds. A recent study in The Plant Cell … Continue reading
Categories: Agriculture | Genetics | Plant Biology
Tagged Arabidopsis, Brassica napus, canola, LEC2, oilseed rape, rapeseed, UPL3
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Nitrogen-fixing bacteria talk to soybean roots via tiny RNAs, suggesting new avenue to improve yields
In order for soybean plants to get their necessary dose of nitrogen, they partner with bacteria called rhizobia, which can convert atmospheric nitrogen into organic forms the plant can use. But scientists don’t have the full picture of what facilitates … Continue reading
Categories: Agriculture | Biochemistry | Genetics | Journal Club | Plant Biology
Tagged legume, messenger RNA, nitrogen, nodule, rhizobia, small RNAs, soybeans, tFR, transfer RNA
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Honeybee queens influence offspring caste through egg size
Queen bees have surprising sway over the future development of their eggs, a recent study reports. The reigning bee matriarch lays larger eggs in the wax honeycomb cells where workers raise new queens as compared with the eggs laid in … Continue reading
Categories: Developmental Biology | Genetics | Journal Club
Tagged honeybee, maternal effect, queen
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