Chimpanzees are capable of metacognition, or thinking about one’s own thinking, and can adjust their behavior accordingly, researchers at Georgia State University, Agnes Scott College, Wofford College and the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York have discovered. Their findings, published June 6 in the journal Cognition, suggest chimpanzees share with humans the capacity for metacognitive monitoring, which reflects…
A team of researchers led by the University of Cambridge has described for the first time in humans how the epigenome — the suite of molecules attached to our DNA that switch our genes on and off — is comprehensively erased in early primordial germ cells prior to the generation of egg and sperm. However, the study, published in the…
Men and women often enter relationships with different long-term goals. In the animal world, differences in approaches to reproductive success can lead to sexual conflict. In a new study, scientists show that sexual conflicts can evolve rapidly in natural populations, driven by competition among males for mating success. Now, in a new study, scientists of the University of Oregon and…
A patient tormented by suicidal thoughts gives his psychiatrist a few strands of his hair. She derives stem cells from them to grow budding brain tissue harboring the secrets of his unique illness in a petri dish. She uses the information to genetically engineer a personalized treatment to correct his brain circuit functioning. Just Sci-fi? Yes, but… An evolving “disease-in-a-dish”…
Hannah Landecker, ISG Acting Director, and Martine Lappé, former ISG postdoctoral fellow now at Columbia University, have together published an article entitled, “How the Genome Got a Life Span,” in a special issue of New Genetics and Society, a selection of research articles on the topic of “Epigenetics and Society: Potential, Expectations, and Criticisms.”
A team of researchers at the IRCM led by François Robert, PhD, uncovered a critical role for two proteins in chromatin structure. Their breakthrough, recently published in the scientific journal Molecular Cell, helps explain how DNA is organized in our cells. This discovery could lead to a better understanding of what causes certain types of cancer, such as lymphoma. “This…