"Epigenetics" drives phenotype?

"Researchers have identified a possible mechanism by which DNA regions that don't encode proteins can still determine phenotypic traits such as a person's height or susceptibility to a particular disease, researchers report online in Science today"

view full article at:
"Epigenetics" drives phenotype? - The Scientist - Magazine of the Life Sciences http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/57224/#ixzz0jg8qcYnR


- Cindy -

Doublesex gene puts sex on the brain of fruitflies

"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. "



view full article at:

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/03/doublesex-gene-that-puts-sex-on-the-brain-of-fruitflies.ars

- Cindy -

Neither Neanderthal nor sapiens: new human relative IDed

"At a press conference yesterday, researchers announced the completely unexpected: a Siberian cave has yielded evidence of an entirely unknown human relative that appears to have shared Asia with both modern humans and Neanderthals less than 50,000 years ago. The find comes courtesy of a single bone from individual's hand. Lest you think that paleontologists are overinterpreting a tiny fragment, it wasn't the shape of the bone that indicates the presence of a new species—it was the DNA that it contained. "


View Full Article:

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/03/neither-neanderthal-nor-sapiens-new-human-relative-ided.ars


- Cindy -

why can't mules reproduce?

From Understanding Genetics website:
http://www.thetech.org/genetics/ask.php?id=225

"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.

-brie