Preclinical studies show that gene therapy can improve muscle strength in small- and large-animal models of a fatal congenital childhood disease know as X-linked myotubular myopathy.
The findings, appearing as the cover story in the January 22, 2014 issue of Science Translational Medicine, also demonstrate the feasibility of future clinical trials of gene therapy for this devastating disease. (more…)
Wolves likely were domesticated by European hunter–gatherers more than 18,000 years ago and gradually evolved into dogs that became household pets, UCLA life scientists report.
“We found that instead of recent wolves being closest to domestic dogs, ancient European wolves were directly related to them,” said Robert Wayne, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology in UCLA’s College of Letters and Science and senior author of the research. “This brings the genetic record into agreement with the archaeological record. Europe is where the oldest dogs are found.” (more…)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — By analyzing the genes of bacteria, University of Florida researchers have moved a step closer to pinpointing how two brain disorders common in small-breed dogs occur.
The researchers found that the bacteria, known as Mycoplasma canis, invade dog’s cells and suppress their immune system responses. (more…)
Aerobic exercise triggers a reward system in the body of long-distance running creatures like humans and dogs, but not ferrets, a study led by UA anthropologist David Raichlen suggests.
In the last century, something unexpected happened: Humans became sedentary. We traded in our active lifestyles for a more immobile existence.
But these were not the conditions under which we evolved – our hunter-gatherer predecessors were long-distance endurance athletes. (more…)
COLUMBUS, Ohio – New research challenges the conventional thinking that young children use language just as adults do to help classify and understand objects in the world around them.
In a new study involving 4- to 5-year-old children, researchers found that the labels adults use to classify items – words like “dog” or “pencil” – don’t have the same ability to influence the thinking of children. (more…)
People of many professions have their own superstitions. Most likely, they did not appear from scratch.
Doctors, for example, try not to exchange their night duties. If they do, they will have a tough night, they say. They also try not to have sex the day before the night duty. There is nothing funny about it because people usually get relaxed and become less attentive after sex. (more…)
Recent, very recent incident. Barney bit the Reuters journalist Jonathan Decker at the White House premises.
