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Genomic Detectives Crack the Case of the Missing Heritability

By Guest PostFebruary 23, 2013Scienceantibiotics, bert vogelstein, caffeine, case, caused by mutation, common dna spelling, crohns disease, dna code, dna variation, drugs, environmental factors, eye color, family traits, genetic causes, genetic code, genetic factors, genomic detectives, gwas, ian ehrenreich, joshua bloom, leonid kruglyak, metal compounds, missing heritability, missing heritability problem, model organism, patterns of inheritance, physical characteristic, princeton university, regions of dna, researcher, risk, risk of diseases, schizophrenia, southern california, thuy lan lite, type 2 diabetes, university, variation, wesley loo, yeast cell

Despite years of research, the genetic factors behind many human diseases and characteristics remain unknown. The inability to find the complete genetic causes of family traits such as height or the risk of type 2 diabetes has been called the “missing heritability” problem.

A new study by Princeton University researchers, however, suggests that missing heritability may not be missing after all — at least not in yeast cells, which the researchers used as a model for studying the problem. Published in the journal Nature, the results suggest that heritability in humans may be hidden due only to the limitations of modern research tools, but could be discovered if scientists know where (and how) to look. (more…)

Lungs of the Planet Reveal Their True Sensitivity to Global Warming

By Guest PostFebruary 16, 2013Environmentamazon forest, atmosphere, burning fossil fuels, carbon dioxide, carbon dioxide concentration, carbon dioxide fertilization, chris jones, climate, climate warming, concentration, deforestation, global warming, lungs, oxygen, peter cox, planet, sensitive biological systems, sensitivity, tropical ecosystems, tropical rainforests, university of exeter, variation

Tropical rainforests are often called the “lungs of the planet” because they generally draw in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen.

But the amount of carbon dioxide that rainforests absorb, or produce, varies hugely with year-to-year variations in the climate.

In a paper published online (Feb 6 2013) by the journal Nature, a team of climate scientists from the University of Exeter, the Met Office-Hadley Centre and the NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, has shown that these variations reveal how vulnerable the rainforest is to climate change. (more…)

Costly Breast Cancer Screenings Don’t Add up to Better Outcomes

By Guest PostJanuary 22, 2013Healthanees chagpar, breast cancer, breast cancer incidence, brigid killelea, cary gross, copper team, cost of screening, geographic regions, heather gold, jama network publication, jessica long, joseph ross, mammography, maysa abu khalaf, medicine, rong wang, screenings, treatment, united states, variation, xiaomei ma, yale cancer center, yale school

Even though Medicare spends over $1 billion per year on breast cancer screenings such as a mammography, there is no evidence that higher spending benefits older women, researchers at Yale School of Medicine found in a study published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

Led by Dr. Cary Gross, associate professor of internal medicine at Yale School of Medicine and director of the Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research (COPPER) Center at Yale, the study sought to provide a comprehensive understanding of breast cancer expenditures that incorporate the cost of screening and associated work-up, as well as treatment. They assessed overall national costs, as well as variation in costs across geographic regions. (more…)

Born to Lead? Leadership Can be an Inherited Trait, Study Finds

By Guest PostJanuary 18, 2013Politics, Scienceassessment, Barack Obama, born to lead, child, de neve, democratic primary, dna sequence, economic, framingham heart study, garfld986, gene, genetic difference, genetic discrimination, genetic trait, genotype, harvard, hillary clinton, inherited trait, jan emmanuel, leadership, leadership behaviour, leadership position, leadership skills, learning environment, new hampshire, nyu, political outcomes, professor john antonakis, rs4950, selection, tendency, ucl, unite for change, united states, university college london, university of california, variation, workplace

Genetic differences are significantly associated with the likelihood that people take on managerial responsibilities, according to new research from UCL (University College London).

The study, published online in Leadership Quarterly, is the first to identify a specific DNA sequence associated with the tendency for individuals to occupy a leadership position. Using a large twin sample, the international research team, which included academics from Harvard, NYU, and the University of California, estimate that a quarter of the observed variation in leadership behaviour between individuals can be explained by genes passed down from their parents. (more…)

Grand Canyon as Old as the Dinosaurs, Suggests New Study Led by CU-Boulder

By Guest PostDecember 6, 2012Scienceapatite, apatite crystals, arizona, atom, bottom, caltech, colorado boulder, colorado river, detect, earth, evolution, grand canyon, helium atom, hydrology, kenneth farley, landscape, mineral grains, phosphate mineral, radioactive decay, rebecca flowers, surface, tectonics, thermal structure, thorium, topography, university, uranium, variation, western

An analysis of mineral grains from the bottom of the western Grand Canyon indicates it was largely carved out by about 70 million years ago — a time when dinosaurs were around and may have even peeked over the rim, says a study led by the University of Colorado Boulder.

The new research pushes back the conventionally accepted date for the formation of the Grand Canyon in Arizona by more than 60 million years, said CU-Boulder Assistant Professor Rebecca Flowers. The team used a dating method that exploits the radioactive decay of uranium and thorium atoms to helium atoms in a phosphate mineral known as apatite, said Flowers, a faculty member in CU-Boulder’s geological sciences department. (more…)

Harmful Protein-Coding Mutations in People arose Largely in the Past 5,000 to 10,000 Years

By Guest PostDecember 2, 2012Sciencea, africa migration, african, age, alzheimer, c, dating, discovery, dna code, dna sequence, Europe, european ancestry, evolutionary geneticist, future generation, g, gene, genetic variants, hardening, harmful, heart arteries, human, human diaspora, joshua akey, mesopotamia, metabolic pathways, middle east, model, mutation, nucleotide, out of africa, paralysis, premature ovarian failure, protein coding gene, protein coding mutation, seattle, single nucleotide, t, tap energy, university, variation, Washington, wenqing fu

A study dating the age of more than 1 million single-letter variations in the human DNA code reveals that most of these mutations are of recent origin, evolutionarily speaking. These kinds of mutations change one nucleotide – an A, C, T or G – in the DNA sequence. Over 86 percent of the harmful protein-coding mutations of this type arose in humans just during the past 5,000 to 10,000 years.

Some of the remaining mutations of this nature may have no effect on people, and a few might be beneficial, according to the project researchers. While each specific mutation is rare, the findings suggest that the human population acquired an abundance of these single-nucleotide genetic variants in a relatively short time. (more…)

U.S. Students Need New Way of Learning Science

By Guest PostApril 7, 2012Educationamerican students, atoms, cells, conservation of mass and energy, digital organisms, energy, forces, genomics, k 12 school, michigan state university, next generation, prom se, radiation, research project, Science, science standard, scientific fact, simon billinge, stephen pruitt, student assessment, synthetic biology, systems change, united states, variation, william schmidt

EAST LANSING, Mich. — American students need a dramatically new approach to improve how they learn science, says a noted group of scientists and educators led by Michigan State University professor William Schmidt.

After six years of work, the group has proposed a solution. The 8+1 Science concept calls for a radical overhaul in K-12 schools that moves away from memorizing scientific facts and focuses on helping students understand eight fundamental science concepts. The “plus one” is the importance of inquiry, the practice of asking why things happen around us – and a fundamental part of science. (more…)

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