2,429 results
2,429 results for: mutations
- Genetics
DNA changes may show how whales adapted to water
Comparing the genetic material of whales has revealed DNA changes that may have helped the animals adapt to aquatic environments.
- Animals
Some birds adapt to Chernobyl’s radiation
Some birds seem to fare well in and near the Chernobyl exclusion zone, but overall the nuclear disaster has been bad news for the region’s bird populations.
- Environment
Five years on, Deepwater Horizon oil spill’s impact lingers
Five years after the Gulf of Mexico’s largest disaster, researchers are still studying its ecological impact and struggling to learn the fate of most of the spilled oil.
- Life
Many genes in dolphins and bats evolved in the same way to allow echolocation
Widespread changes scattered across the genomes of distantly related species cooperated to craft the trait.
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Killer whales, grandmas and what men want: Evolutionary biologists consider menopause
Menopause seems like a cruel prank that Mother Nature plays on women. First come the hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, irregular periods, irritability and weight gain. Then menstruation stops and fertility ends. Why, many women ask, must they suffer through this? Evolutionary biologists, it turns out, ask themselves more or less the same question. […]
- Life
Mutation makes H5N1 flu lose its grip
Laboratory-added genetic change makes avian influenza unable to bind to bird cells.
- Genetics
Scorpion’s sting evolved from insects’ defensive proteins
With a single genetic mutation, an insect’s defensive proteins can be transformed into a toxin that gives scorpions their signature sting, a new study shows.
- Genetics
Ancient famine-fighting genes can’t explain obesity
Scientists question the long-standing notion that adaptation — specifically the evolution of genes that encourage humans to hold on to fat so they can survive times of famine — has driven the obesity crisis.
- Life
Scorpion genome decoded
An analysis of an arachnid’s DNA reveals how the animal survives its own venom.
- Science & Society
Year in Review: High court rules against gene patents
The justices’ decision opens the way for choices in DNA testing.
- Life
Dangerous Digs
By properly managing a tumor cell’s microenvironment, cancer researchers are making cancer something people live with, not die from.
- Genetics
What your earwax says about your ancestry
Both armpit and ear wax secretions are smellier in Caucasians than in Asians, thanks to a tiny genetic change that differs across ethnic groups.
