In recent months, three international teams have published papers comparing the genomes of dogs and wolves. On some matters — such as the types of genetic changes that make the two differ — the researchers are more or less in agreement. Yet the teams have all arrived at wildly different conclusions about the timing, location and basis for the…
The study is published online and in the July print issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics. Senior author Dr. Jeffrey R. Gruen, professor of pediatrics, genetics, and investigative medicine at Yale, and colleagues analyzed data from more than 10,000 children born in 1991-1992 who were part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) conducted by investigators…
Until recently, the most extensive genome-wide association study in the social sciences involved about 10,000 individuals. A new study detailed in this week’s Scienceexamines the genomes of about 100,000 people across fifteen countries in order to identify genetic markers related to a person’s educational accomplishments. The researchers have identified genetic mutations that are associated with two measures of a person’s educational attainment:…
At Myora farm, near Mt Gambier in South Australia, Jeff Braun breeds over 30,000 pigs every year. He says the way of the future is using genetics to enhance the meat yield from the pigs he breeds. “So once we can put commercial dollar values and understand how we can get more yield out of one carcass, of the same…
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that police can routinely take DNA samples from people who are arrested but not yet convicted of a crime, and see if the DNA matches any samples from unsolved crimes in a national database. The 5-to-4 decision split the court’s conservative and liberal blocs, with conservative Justice Antonin Scalia authoring a fiery dissent. Twenty-eight…
“The white tiger, an elusive Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) variant with white fur and dark stripes, has fascinated humans for centuries ever since its discovery in the jungles of India. Many white tigers in captivity are inbred in order to maintain this autosomal recessive trait and consequently suffer some health problems, leading to the controversial speculation that the white…