For years, genes have been considered the one and only way biological traits could be passed down through generations of organisms. Not anymore. Increasingly, biologists are finding that non-genetic variation acquired during the life of an organism can sometimes be passed on to offspring—a phenomenon known as epigenetic inheritance. An article forthcoming in the July issue of The Quarterly R...

A team of researchers from the University of Valladolid (UVA) and the Salamanca Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology (IRNASA-CSIC) has shown that potatoes irrigated with arsenic-rich water contain this element at levels up to 35 times higher than crops on which this water was not used. The scientists have also confirmed the impact of water with high arsenic content on beet, carrot and wh...

The bombardment of Earth nearly 4 billion years ago by asteroids as large as Kansas would not have had the firepower to extinguish potential early life on the planet and may even have given it a boost, says a new University of Colorado at Boulder study. Impact evidence from lunar samples, meteorites and the pockmarked surfaces of the inner planets paints a picture of a violent environment in the s...

Whether a monkey is looking to the left or merely watching another monkey looking that way, the same neurons in his brain are firing, according to researchers at the Duke University Medical Center. "We speculate that the neurons` activity may lie beneath critical social behavior, such as joint attention," said Michael Platt, Ph.D., Duke professor of neurobiology and evolutionary anthropo...

Monkeys playing a game similar to "Let`s Make A Deal" have revealed that their brains register missed opportunities and learn from their mistakes. "This is the first evidence that monkeys, like people, have `would-have, could-have, should-have` thoughts," said Ben Hayden, a researcher at the Duke University Medical Center and lead author of the study published in the journal Sc...

Through sophisticated statistical analyses and advanced computer simulations, researchers are learning more about the genomic patterns of human population structure around the world. Revealing such patterns provides insights into the history of human evolution, the predominant evolutionary forces that shaped local populations, and the relationships among populations. "Studying genomic pattern...

A team of University of Oregon biologists, using fruit flies, has created a way to isolate RNA from specific cells, opening a new window on how gene expression drives normal development and disease-causing breakdowns. While DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) provides an identical genetic blueprint in every cell, RNA (ribonucleic acid) decodes genetic instructions that turn protein molecules on and off in...

The answer to the looming fuel crisis in the 21st century may be found by thinking small, microscopic in fact. Microscopic organisms from bacteria and cyanobacteria, to fungi and microalgae, are biological factories that are proving to be efficient sources of inexpensive, environmentally friendly biofuels that can serve as alternatives to oil, according to research presented at the 109th General ...

A new tool will help researchers identify the minute changes in DNA patterns that lead to cancer, Huntington`s disease and a host of other genetic disorders. The tool was developed at North Carolina State University and translates DNA sequences into graphic images, which allows researchers to distinguish genetic patterns more quickly and efficiently than was historically possible using computers. ...

The birds are watching. They know who you are. And they will attack. Nope, not Hitchcock. It`s science. University of Florida biologists are reporting that mockingbirds recognize and remember people whom the birds perceive as threatening their nests. If the white-and-grey songbirds common in cities and towns throughout the Southeast spot their unwelcome guests, they screech, dive bomb and even som...