Tag: genes
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Genes. Not important.
One of the great puzzles of evolutional biology is what induced certain living creatures to abandon solitary existence in favor of living in collaborative societies, as seen in the case of ants and other social, colony-forming insects. A major characteristic of so-called eusocial species is the division of labor between queens that lay eggs and […]
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Health. Disease. Blurry lines…
Our genome is made up of 20,000 genes, all of which may cause disease. At present, 4,141 genes have been identified as being responsible for genetic abnormalities, leaving around 16,000 genes with unknown implication in disease. Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, — working in collaboration with scientists from Pakistan and the USA […]
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Divorce. Separation. Matter. Soul.
Children of divorced parents are more likely to get divorced when compared to those who grew up in two-parent families – and genetic factors are the primary explanation, according to a study by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University and Lund University in Sweden. The study’s findings are notable because they diverge from the predominant narrative […]
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Replication and cell identity. The birth of death.
The set of genes a cell expresses determines if it’s a skin cell, nerve cell or a heart muscle cell, among the 200 or so different cell types found in the human body”. Prior to cell division, chromosomes are seemingly a jumbled mess. During cell division, parent cell chromosomes and their duplicates sort themselves out […]
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Mapping the genome. The illusion of “dimensions”…
Cells face a daunting task. They have to neatly pack a several meter-long thread of genetic material into a nucleus that measures only five micrometers across. This origami creates spatial interactions between genes and their switches, which can affect human health and disease. Now, an international team of scientists has devised a powerful new technique […]
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