Tag Archives | Gene

dna_face

Mug shots from DNA possible, say scientists

DNA can already tell us the sex and ancestry of unknown individuals, but now an international team of researchers is beginning to connect genetics with facial features, degrees of femininity, and racial characteristics. Writing about their work in PLOS Genetics, the researchers detail how by jointly modeling sex, genomic ancestry, and genotype, the independent effects […]

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age

Alzheimer’s may begin in childhood

The people who carry the high-risk SORL1 gene for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease show changes in their brains beginning in early childhood, according to researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). SORL1 is one of a number of genes linked to an increased risk of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. It carries the gene code […]

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meditation

Gene expression altered with meditation

Previous studies have shown that meditation can trigger changes in the brain and body but the biological mechanism for these effects has remained a mystery. Now, in the journalPsychoneuroendocrinology, researchers are reporting the first evidence of specific molecular changes in the body following a period of meditation. The new work, by researchers in the U.S., […]

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anorexia

Cholesterol metabolism implicated in anorexia

A DNA-sequencing study of anorexia nervosa sufferers has linked the eating disorder to variants in a gene that regulates cholesterol metabolism, suggesting that anorexia could be caused in part by a disruption in the normal processing of cholesterol. “These findings point in a direction that probably no one would have considered taking before,” said lead […]

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personality

Gender behaviors directly manipulated

Uncovering the individual genes that are directly influenced by testosterone and estrogen has allowed University of California, San Francisco scientists to manipulate individual behaviors in mice, such as sex drive, desire to pick fights, or willingness to spend extra time caring for their young. Explaining his work in the journal Cell, researcher Nirao Shah said […]

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couple_hot_tub

Courtship affects gene expression

Some of the mysteries of human mating behavior could now be explained thanks to a new study that shows that certain genes become activated in fruit flies when they interact with the opposite sex. Understanding why and how these genes become activated within social contexts may also lead to insights into disorders such as autism, […]

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