2,445 results
2,445 results for: mutations
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Killer whales, grandmas and what men want: Evolutionary biologists consider menopause
Menopause seems like a cruel prank that Mother Nature plays on women. First come the hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, irregular periods, irritability and weight gain. Then menstruation stops and fertility ends. Why, many women ask, must they suffer through this? Evolutionary biologists, it turns out, ask themselves more or less the same question. […]
- Genetics
Scorpion’s sting evolved from insects’ defensive proteins
With a single genetic mutation, an insect’s defensive proteins can be transformed into a toxin that gives scorpions their signature sting, a new study shows.
- Life
Mutation makes H5N1 flu lose its grip
Laboratory-added genetic change makes avian influenza unable to bind to bird cells.
- Genetics
Ancient famine-fighting genes can’t explain obesity
Scientists question the long-standing notion that adaptation — specifically the evolution of genes that encourage humans to hold on to fat so they can survive times of famine — has driven the obesity crisis.
- Life
Scorpion genome decoded
An analysis of an arachnid’s DNA reveals how the animal survives its own venom.
- Science & Society
Year in Review: High court rules against gene patents
The justices’ decision opens the way for choices in DNA testing.
- Life
Dangerous Digs
By properly managing a tumor cell’s microenvironment, cancer researchers are making cancer something people live with, not die from.
- Genetics
What your earwax says about your ancestry
Both armpit and ear wax secretions are smellier in Caucasians than in Asians, thanks to a tiny genetic change that differs across ethnic groups.
- Climate
Environmental change may spur growth of ‘rock snot’
A controversial new theory suggests alga that forms rock snot isn’t an invader, but a low-key species native to many rivers.
- Neuroscience
Ten thousand neurons linked to behaviors in fly
By studying the wiggles of 37,780 fly larvae, scientists link specific neurons to 29 distinct behaviors.
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- Health & Medicine
Medicine Nobel goes to cellular transport research
Honor given to three scientists who discovered how machinery moves cargo around cells.
