Life Sciences and Chemistry

A common butterfly, found in a variety of habitats from the southern United States to northern Argentina, is actually comprised of at least 10 separate species, according to researchers from the University of Pennsylvania.

Astraptes fulgerator, a medium-large skipper butterfly, is a routine visitor to urban gardens and tropical rainforests. While the “species” has been known to science since 1775, only now has examination of a small and standardized signature piece of the genome –

Duke University Medical Center researchers have identified specific clusters of genes within human aortas that appear to predict with great specificity which patients may be at highest risk for developing atherosclerosis, as well as the severity of the disease.

For the researchers, this is an important first of many steps toward developing highly individualized approaches to identifying and treating atherosclerosis that are tailored to and informed by a patient’s unique genet

Short stretch of DNA sequence fast, accurate method for identifying species

The task of identifying Earth’s estimated 10 million species has daunted biologists for centuries – fewer than two million have been named. Using a technique called DNA barcoding, researchers at Rockefeller University and two Canadian institutions have uncovered four new species of North American birds. The findings are reported in the September 28 issue of Public Library of Science (PLoS) Biology.

Findings could have implications for treating lung disease

Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center have identified a master gene that controls the first breath a newborn infant takes. The findings could have implications for treating premature babies and children and adults with lung disease or lung injury. While other genes have been identified as having roles in lung development, this master gene, called Foxa2, controls key factors that allow the lungs o

In a paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Temple University researchers report that one of the functions of the c-myb gene, which leukemia cells depend on for proliferation, is the formation of white blood cells.

“This study is another step in the process of validating the c-myb gene as a potential target for new cancer drugs,” said Prem Reddy, Ph.D., professor and director of the Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology at Te

A new study headed by biologists at Washington University in St. Louis shows that Florida is an exporter of more than just fruit and star athletes.

Studying genetic variation in the common brown lizard, Anolis sagrei, the researchers found that introduced populations of the lizard in five different countries can be traced back to the Sunshine State as their site of export.

The team analyzed a small region of DNA from more than 600 different individuals to get a genetic “ID