Researchers have found an amazingly quick and seemingly safe way to transform ordinary skin cells into stem cells and muscle cells.
The researchers said Thursday their approach could provide a way to generate tissue in a new science called regenerative medicine, which doctors hope may eventually lead to ways to repair injuries and possibly someday even replace whole organs.
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The question of homosexuality in animals has recently rearisen with the discovery that albatross, the bird with the lowest "divorce" rate, do not pair up exclusively heterosexually. This brings into question the idea that homosexuallity is a genetically inherited trait or whether it is environmentally founded. The term animal homosexuality is one that might not even be able to be used because it applies human traits to animals
The parallels of regenerative biology throughout the animal kingdom could unlock the differences in human regeneration, such as skin cells and animals such as the Paranais litoralis which can grow its limbs back. This relates to pluripotency within Therapeutic cloning
"At first glance, the differences between males and females seem obvious, since genitalia, morphology, and courtship behavior often vary greatly between the two sexes. However, the biological mechanisms that create these sex differences are still poorly understood in many species. A new study in Nature Neuroscience looks into how the gene doublesex (dsx) may help wire sex differences into the brain of the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster. "
"A mule gets 32 horse chromosomes from mom and 31 donkey chromosomes from dad for a total of 63 chromosomes. (A horse has 64 chromosomes and a donkey has 62)."- the odd number of chromosomes (and difference in size and sequence) do not allow for meiosis to take place, and thus egg and sperm are not made.
From Science Daily (September 2, 2009):
A study with mice shows that understanding the development of fragile x syndrome, may explain touch sensitivity in people with autism.
