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Evolution picks up hitchhikers

By Guest PostAugust 5, 2013Scienceandrew murray, bacteria, bioinformatics, daniel rice, data analysis, david botstein, Environment, evolution, fittest, functions, genetic hitchhikers, genome, gregory lang, harvard university, hitchhikers, michael desai, mutation, princeton university, resist chemotherapeutics, resistance to antibiotics, survival, tumors

In a twist on “survival of the fittest,” researchers have discovered that evolution is driven not by a single beneficial mutation but rather by a group of mutations, including ones called “genetic hitchhikers” that are simply along for the ride. These hitchhikers are mutations that do not appear to have a role in contributing to an organism’s fitness and therefore its evolution, yet may play an important role down the road.

Researchers from Princeton University found in a study of 1,000 generations of adaptation in 40 yeast populations that about five to seven specific mutations, rather than just a one, are needed for an organism to succeed. The knowledge of how mutations drive evolution can inform our understanding of how tumors resist chemotherapeutics and how bacteria evolve resistance to antibiotics. The study was published July 21 in the journal Nature. (more…)

UCLA researchers discover sperm move along a ‘twisting ribbon’

By Guest PostApril 30, 2013Healthaydogan ozcan, chemicals, chemo attractants, chiral ribbon patterns, euan mcleod, fertilization, flagella propel, functions, holographic microscope, horse sperm cells, human, inkyum choi, jaiwen feng, kalvin huang, micro swimmers, micrometers, microscale motion, migration of cells, sperm, sperm cells, sperm head, sperm motility, sperm motion, swimming patterns, ting wei su, toxins, twisted ribbon pattern, twisting ribbon, ucla researchers

Opening the door to more sophisticated investigation of sperm locomotion and biophysics, researchers from UCLA’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have identified previously unobserved swimming patterns in human and horse sperm cells.

This research, published in Scientific Reports, a journal of the Nature Publishing Group, could lead to a deeper understanding of how sperm move on their way to fertilization or other functions and how they react when encountering various toxins or chemicals. (more…)

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Evolution picks up hitchhikers

UCLA researchers discover sperm move along a ‘twisting ribbon’