A decade of data documenting live births in the United States links babies of older fathers with a variety of increased risks at birth, including low birth weight and seizures, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Continue reading “Older fathers associated with increased birth risks, study reports”
Understanding 6th-century barbarian social organization and migration through paleogenomics
Applying a comprehensive analysis of genetic, historical, and archeological factors in two 6th-century barbarian cemeteries, researchers have gleaned new insights into a key era known as the Migration Period that laid the foundation for modern European society. Spanning the 4th to 8th centuries, this epoch followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and was a time of major socioeconomic and cultural transformation in Europe. However, despite more than a century of scholarly work by historians and archaeologists, much about the period still remains unknown or is hotly debated, as reliable written accounts are lacking. Continue reading “Understanding 6th-century barbarian social organization and migration through paleogenomics”
Father’s nicotine use can cause cognitive problems in children and grandchildren
A father’s exposure to nicotine may cause cognitive deficits in his children and even grandchildren, according to a study in mice publishing on October 16 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Pradeep Bhide of Florida State University in Tallahassee and colleagues. The effect, which was not caused by direct secondhand exposure, may be due to epigenetic changes in key genes in the father’s sperm. Continue reading “Father’s nicotine use can cause cognitive problems in children and grandchildren”
Evolution purged many Neanderthal genes from human genome
Neanderthal genetic material is found in only small amounts in the genomes of modern humans because, after interbreeding, natural selection removed large numbers of weakly deleterious Neanderthal gene variants, according to a study by Ivan Juric and colleagues at the University of California, Davis, published November 8th, 2016 in PLOS Genetics. Continue reading “Evolution purged many Neanderthal genes from human genome”
Teenagers can thank their parents’ positive attitude for avoiding obesity
Teenagers are less likely to be overweight if their mum or dad had a positive attitude during pregnancy, a new study by the University of Bristol and Emory University revealed today. Continue reading “Teenagers can thank their parents’ positive attitude for avoiding obesity”
Does our environment affect the genes in our brains?
Is there a link between differences in IQ test performance and the activity of certain genes? Researchers from Charité — Universitätsmedizin Berlin have shown that modifications in the structure of a specific gene have a negative impact on individual test performance. This suggests that environmentally-induced epigenetic changes to our genetic material have a greater impact on intelligence than previously thought. Results from this study have been published in Translational Psychiatry. Continue reading “Does our environment affect the genes in our brains?”
Novo Scriptorium 