Scientists attempting to discover why some human genes evolved very rapidly believe that biased gene conversion (a non-adaptive evolutionary process) may be a significant factor, above and beyond Darwinian natural selection. Describing their results in the journal PLoS Biology, the Uppsala University researchers describe how they identified fast evolving human genes by comparing our genome […]
The dynamics of evolution are as evident in cancerous tumors as in any other ecosystem and oncologists hope that with help from ecologists and evolutionary biologists, they can exploit natural selection to develop radical new cancer treatments. “A tumor cell population is constantly evolving through natural selection,” says Wistar Institute researcher Carlo C. Maley, who […]
New York University researchers have developed a model of the intra-cellular mammalian biological clock that reveals how the rapid interaction of molecules with DNA produces reliable 24-hour rhythms. They also found that without the inherent randomness of molecular interactions within a cell, biological rhythms may dampen over time. In research appearing in theProceedings of the […]
An experiment which forced E. coli bacteria to adapt or perish showed that, in a pinch, they were capable of improvising a novel molecular tool to save their skins. “The bacteria reached for a tool that they had, and made it do something it doesn’t normally do,” said James Bardwell, an associate professor of molecular, […]
