Microbiology: Here’s looking at you, squid Margaret McFall-Ngai has dissected the relationship between a beautiful squid and its live-in bacteria — and found lessons for microbiome research on the way. Ed Yong 14 January 2015 Excerpt: “We now know that microbes make up the vast diversity of the biosphere, and that animal biology was shaped … Beneficial microbes kill beneficial mutations
See also: Unconstrained evolutionary innovability Ideas that evolution is not constrained can be compared to experimental evidence of biophysically constrained ecological adaptations. The most recent relevant open access published work from the Jakobsson lab is: TRIM28 Represses Transcription of Endogenous Retroviruses in Neural Progenitor Cells. This is a link to a prior publication (also open … Constrained evolution is ecological adaptation
The Strange Inevitability of Evolution by Philip Ball Excerpt 1) Natural selection supplies an incredibly powerful way of pruning variation into effective solutions to the challenges of the environment. But it can’t explain where all that variation came from. As the biologist Hugo de Vries wrote in 1905, “natural selection may explain the survival of … Unconstrained evolutionary innovability
Never mind the selfish gene – ribosomes are the missing link Excerpt: “All cells share three organelles, or internal structures, besides gene-containing chromosomes: ribosomes which contain the machinery for translating genetic information into the proteins that perform the cell’s work; a cell membrane that selectively permits materials in and out; and acidocalcisomes, which store and … Mutagenesis: Replacing facts with theories
Imre Lakatos Excerpt: “A Lakatosian research programme[8] is based on a hard core of theoretical assumptions that cannot be abandoned or altered without abandoning the programme altogether. More modest and specific theories that are formulated in order to explain evidence that threatens the ‘hard core’ are termed auxiliary hypotheses. Auxiliary hypotheses are considered expendable by … From Hydra to humans vs a Lakatosian research program
Endogenous Hydrogen Sulfide Production Is Essential for Dietary Restriction Benefits Article image: Excerpt: “…unifying nutritional and molecular mechanisms remain elusive.” Reported as Molecular mechanism behind health benefits of dietary restriction identified Excerpt 1) “Dietary restriction is a type of intervention that can include reduced overall food intake, decreased consumption of particular macronutrients such as protein, … Unified nutritional and molecular mechanisms
DNA Loop-the-Loops A new full-genome map indicates how DNA is folded within the nuclei of human cells.By Kate Yandell | December 11, 2014 Excerpt: “…many loops were conserved among cell types, and even between mice and humans. But others seemed to drive cell type-specific gene expression patterns.” My comment to The Scientist Magazine: Nutrient-dependent/pheromone-controlled adaptive … Chemical ecology and RNA-mediated control of DNA loops
Daily Comment November 21, 2014 European Science’s Great Leap Backward By Michael Specter Excerpt 1) “When politicians reject verifiable data and reputable research and rely instead on politics or desire, the results can be devastating.” Excerpt 2 with my emphasis) “…scientific organizations from around the world… have strongly endorsed the safety of G.M. foods. (It … Jumping back: Science or Pseudoscience?
Mosquito Genomes Galore Whole-genome sequences of 16 different mosquito species reveal rapid evolution and could inform malaria research. By Ruth Williams | November 27, 2014 Excerpt: “…mosquitoes are rapidly evolving, exhibiting high degrees of gene gains, losses, shuffling, and even transmission between closely related species.” It is the reports on rapid evolution of insects that … Extensive molecular evidence vs ridiculous theories
Multiple haplotype-resolved genomes reveal population patterns of gene and protein diplotypes Excerpt: “The CDP showed a significant overrepresentation of certain gene ontology (GO) groups (global tests Po0.001–0.009), using the programme FUNC23 (Methods). These groups included GPCRs, in particular olfactory receptors (ORs), and other membrane and cell-surface proteins, as well as proteins related to the immune … Dual genomes: exposing the evolution industry
