A study of twins conducted by Stanford University School of Medicine investigators shows that our environment, more than our heredity, plays the starring role in determining the state of our immune system, the body’s primary defense against disease. This is especially true as we age, the study indicates. Much has been made of the role genes play in human health.…
ISG faculty, Dr. Jessica Lynch Alfaro, Dr. Michael E. Alfaro, et al, have published a paper titled “Spatial and temporal patterns of diversification on the Amazon: A test of the riverine hypothesis for all diurnal primates of Rio Negro and Rio Branco in Brazil” in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Abstract: The role of Amazonian rivers as drivers of speciation through…
ISG faculty, Dr. Jessica Lynch Alfaro, Dr. Michael E. Alfaro, et al, have published a paper titled “Biogeography of the marmosets and tamarins (Callitrichidae)” in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Abstract: The marmosets and tamarins, Family Callitrichidae, are Neotropical primates with over 60 species and subspecies that inhabit much of South America. Although callitrichids exhibit a remarkable widespread distribution, attempts to…
ISG faculty, Dr. Jessica Lynch Alfaro, Dr. Michael E. Alfaro, et al, have published a paper titled “Biogeography of squirrel monkeys (genus Saimiri): South-central Amazon origin and rapid pan-Amazonian diversification of a lowland primate” in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Abstract: The squirrel monkey, Saimiri, is a pan-Amazonian Pleistocene radiation. We use statistical phylogeographic methods to create a mitochondrial DNA-based timetree for 118…
Research by UCLA life scientists and 50 colleagues sheds new light on the biological differences among more than 150 species of monkeys in South America, many of which are endangered. Their findings could be particularly important in shaping efforts to conserve the biodiversity of primates in South America. The scientists have resolved a dispute over whether a small population of…
Scientists from the universities of Manchester and Sheffield have developed a computer model charting what happens in the brain when an action is chosen that leads to a reward. The model could provide new insights into the mechanisms behind motor disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease. It may also shed light on conditions involving abnormal learning, such as addiction. Dr. Mark…