les nouvelles

NASA's Kepler spots 5 planets in its first 6 weeks of data: NASA's planet-hunting Kepler telescope has identified five new hot Jupiters in only six weeks of observations.

U.S. lifts restriction on visas to HIV-positive foreigners

International Team Characterizes Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumors

ScienceDaily (Dec. 31, 2009) — An international team of scientists led by researchers at The Scripps Research Institute has developed a straightforward technique to determine the ethnic origin of stem cells.

les nouvelles

I voted yesterday morning... it seems like not a lot of people voted, and I was rather surprized by how it turned out.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers are facing the arduous task of closing a state budget gap of more than $21 billion after ballot measures aimed at bolstering the state's finances were soundly defeated by voters.

As soon as I saw the documentary on LOGO about Late In Life Lesbians, I suddenly realized that the world is full of them! Click here for an interesting article about Late In Life Lesbians

This is a WOMAN'S world: Men face mass extinction because male genes are dying out

->Three hundred million years ago the Y chromosome had about 1,400 genes on it, and now it's only got 45 left, so at this rate we're going to run out of genes on the Y chromosome in about five million years.

... which will eventually lead to 2 different species of humans.

les nouvelles

If you think global warming is scary now, wait until the year 2059, according to a new study in the journal Nature.

Catching Flu From Money

It's not just from pigs: Swine flu is a mongrel of many strains, say scientists

Meet the ancestors: DNA study pinpoints Namibia as home to the world's most ancient race

->The origin of a species is taken to be the place where people show the most genetic diversity because of the time it takes for genes to evolve. The DNA tests therefore suggest the San are the oldest continuous population of humans on the Earth...the languages they spokes were closely correlated with the variation of their genes.

gene news

Sephardic Jews leave genetic legacy in Spain

Gene may open door for new sickle cell therapies

natural immunity to HIV

There are individuals in all the worlds different populations who possess a natural immunity to HIV. Is this called selective retention? I might be wrong, and I can't easily find a clear answer when looking it up on the internet. Ironically, the populations with the highest natural immunity to HIV are Scandinavian countries (don't be fooled, it's under 1%) whereas the areas with the lowest natural immunity all happen to be in Africa.

To make a long story short, these people have a genetic mutation which changes the confirmation of the outside protein of the immune system's Killer T cells. This mutation causes no side affects to the mutated individuals and they lead totally normal lives, if HIV had never occurred this rare mutation would most likely not have been discovered yet, since there would be no reason to look for it (perhaps it would have been discovered through the completion of the Human genome Project). This protein happens to be the one that HIV latches onto in average people, causing death from AIDS.

As I think about this, which I often do, I being to wonder about these individuals who do possess natural immunity-

These people are very lucky! But, at the same time I being to wonder if the virus exists forever inside their bodies, then are they carriers?

Since a virus is already non-living, does that mean nothing would happen to it, and it would float around in the blood and tissues? I guess in all fairness I should say that it's very possible that there might be a very very very small amount (concentration) of the virus in the body, unless they had been having lots of sex with lots of infected partners, in which case they could get filled up with the HIV virus, but never receive any of the affects, since they themselves are immune. Fill me up with your AIDS jizz.

on a side note- These individuals are an example of evolution- their genes have been expressed when they under normal circumstances would have been taken out of the gene pool. This causes a change in a population of organisms, which is defined as evolution.

I always wonder why people try and say it doesn't exist? I've seen it happen before my eyes, it's observable. Open your eyes.

***
It's inspiring to know that there will always be a few left behind, no matter what happens (in regards to pandemics).

Maybe it's going to be me?

blue eyes

ScienceDaily (Jan. 31, 2008) — New research shows that people with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor. A team at the University of Copenhagen have tracked down a genetic mutation which took place 6-10,000 years ago and is the cause of the eye colour of all blue-eyed humans alive on the planet today.

I want to go to Australia- genetically the species are rather unique.

Scientists map the genetic makeup of the platypus
By ROHAN SULLIVAN – 1 day ago
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — With a bill like a duck, a tail like a beaver and snake-like venom hidden in heel spurs, the platypus could be the result of some strange genetic experiment.
And it is, scientists say: evolution.
A scientific team published the genetic makeup of the Australian animal in the scientific journal Nature on Thursday, confirming that its features — which straddle multiple animal classes — are reflected in its DNA.
The research could help explain how mammals, including humans, evolved from reptiles millions of years ago, they said.
"At first glance, the platypus appears as if it was the result of an evolutionary accident," said Francis S. Collins, director of the U.S. National Human Genome Research Institute, which funded the study.
"But as weird as this animal looks, its genome sequence is priceless for understanding how mammalian biological processes evolved," Collins said in a statement.
More than 100 scientists from the United States, Australia, Japan and other nations took part in mapping the genome, using DNA collected from a female platypus named Glennie.
Jenny Graves, an Australian National University genomics expert who co-wrote the paper, said the gene sequencing shows the platypus has a mix that crosses different classifications of animals.
"What we found was the genome, just like the animal, is an amazing amalgam of reptilian and mammal characteristics with quite a few unique platypus characteristics as well," she told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
The platypus is classed as a mammal because it has fur and feeds its young with milk. But it also has bird and reptile features — it lays eggs, has a duck-like bill and webbed feet, it and lives mostly underwater. Males also have spurs on their heels that inject pain-causing venom to ward off mating rivals.
Scientists believe the platypus and humans shared an evolutionary path until about 165 million years ago when the platypus branched off. Unlike other evolving mammals, the platypus retained characteristics of snakes and lizards, Graves said.
By comparing platypus genes to those of humans and other mammals, scientists hope to fill in the gaps about mammals' evolution and better identify species' specific traits.
Unique to Australia, the platypus has confounded observers for centuries. Aboriginal legend explained the notoriously shy animal as the offspring of a duck and an amorous water rat.
When the British Museum received its first specimen in 1798, zoologist George Shaw was so dubious he tried to cut the pelt with scissors to make sure the bill had not been stitched on by a taxidermist.
Platypuses live along most of Australia's east coast and though their numbers are not accurately known they are not considered to be endangered.