News

Sea otters have low genetic diversity, which could endanger their health as a species, a UCLA-led team of life scientists has discovered. The findings have implications for the conservation of rare and endangered species, in which low genetic diversity could increase the odds of extinction.

Little is known about the biology and the genetic status of the Caucasian Lynx (Lynx lynx dinniki), a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx distributed across portions of Turkey, the Caucasus region and Iran. To collect baseline genetic, ecological, and behavioural data and assist future conservation efforts, a team of scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) collected data and samples in a region of Anatolian Turkey over several years.

Giraldez and his research team at Yale found that two specific factors are needed to activate DNA in the newly formed genome.

Scientists have shed new light on the genomic foundation of the polar bear’s ecological adaption by pinpointing rapid changes in the bear’s gene copy numbers in response to a diet shifting from vegetation to meat.

New research comparing the anatomy and behavior of dogs and wolves suggests dogs' facial anatomy has changed over thousands of years specifically to allow them to better communicate with humans.

Cat breeds differ from each other in behaviour with regard to activity, aggressiveness, shyness, sociability and stereotypical behaviour. A study has discovered that behavioural traits are highly heritable. Heritability of behaviour explains differences between breeds.

Schizophrenia may be related to genetic abnormalities of chromosome 22, known as 22q11 deletion syndrome. However, not everyone who has the syndrome necessarily develops psychotic symptoms. So, what triggers the illness? An 18-year-long study provides some answers.

Analysis of 31,000 parent-child trios yielded more than 45,000 de novo mutations (DNMs). Researchers developed an improved method to test for the enrichment (over-representation) of damaging DNMs in individual genes and found 307 significantly enriched genes, 49 of which are novel.

Researchers present the PREGCARE study, which aims to provide healthy couples who have a child affected by a developmental disorder with a personalised pre-conception risk evaluation, at the European Society of Human Genetics annual conference.

A widely held hypothesis for the origin of animals has been put to the test, through a comparison of studies on the transcriptomics, fates and behaviors of three primary sponge cell types.