Category Archives: Uncategorized

Journal Club: Horizontal gene transfer can boost fitness quickly, but the conditions matter

Posted on April 27, 2018 by Jessica P. Johnson

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is rampant in the bacterial community, as well as in some other members of the tree of life. Researchers have long known that HGT events can improve an organism’s ability to adapt to changing environments. What’s … Continue reading →

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Journal Club: Older zebra finch fathers produce young with shorter lifespans

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Carolyn Beans

Scientists have long observed that the offspring of younger parents tend to live longer than the offspring of older parents in many animal species, including humans. But this phenomenon, dubbed the “Lansing effect” for the first scientist who described it, … Continue reading →

Journal Club: Scientists culture human placenta cells in hopes of understanding pregnancy complications

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Carolyn Beans

A collection of human placental cells known as trophoblasts are responsible for much of what goes right in a healthy pregnancy. But growing and studying these cells in the lab has been a major challenge. Now, a team of Japanese … Continue reading →

Journal Club: In the mouse gut, a bacteria-killing virus evolves to attack a new strain

Posted on November 30, 2017 by Carolyn Beans

In scientists’ quest to understand how gut microbes affect human health, bacteria take center stage. But bacteriophages, the viruses that attack the bacteria, are often overlooked, says microbiologist Luisa De Sordi of the Institut Pasteur in France. “We keep an … Continue reading →

Journal Club: Fruit fly hybrids make poor foragers, offering insight into how species remain distinct

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Carolyn Beans

When one fruit fly species meets another, they sometimes interbreed. And yet despite this genetic mixing, distinct species still persist—over 2,000 of them. Evolutionary biologist Daniel Matute of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is one of … Continue reading →