7,000 years of cheese!

05 Tuesday Feb 2013

Tags

anthropology, cheese, dairy, food, Human, Lactose intolerance, Linear Pottery culture, milk, People, Poland, Popular science, prehistory, science

Cheese may be a gourmet’s delight and a major industry these days, but it was probably originally just a good way to keep milk from spoiling and to deal with lactose intolerance. In a paper published in Nature last month, a team of scientists from the UK, US and Poland used evidence from pottery remains to show that this venerable art stretches back at least 7,000 years.

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Sex and sociality: the genetics of being different

01 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by sedeer in Development, Genetics, Hymenoptera, Insects

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Ant, Ant colony, ants, Chromosome, DNA, Fire ant, Gene, polygyny, Popular science, Queen ant, Red imported fire ant, science

An international team of researchers studying fire ants have discovered the first “social chromosome”. While this is obviously exciting to those of us who are fascinated by the advanced social organization of ants, the discovery also has broader implications. The mechanism the researchers uncovered is similar to how sex is determined in many animals, creating the tantalizing possibility that it might be an example of a more general mechanism for evolving distinctly different complex behaviours. Continue reading →

Flying bacteria: the chemists of the clouds

22 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by sedeer in Bacteria, Climate

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Bacteria, biology, Chemistry, climate, clouds, Hydrogen peroxide, micro organisms, microbes, Microorganism, Popular science, science, Ultraviolet

A while ago I wrote about how bacteria make their way into clouds, where they act as seeds around which raindrops condense. Now, a team of scientists in France has shown that the microbes floating around in the clouds do more than just make it rain to bring them back down to the surface; they also carry out chemistry while they’re up there.
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Fam38A: another piece of the cancer puzzle

17 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by sedeer in Humans, Science communication

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

biology, Cancer, Health, Human, Lung cancer, Metastasis, Popular science, science, Science communication, Science in Society, sclc patients, small cell lung cancer, Tumor, tumour cells

A team of researchers in the UK have discovered how the absence of a single gene makes it easier for tumour cells to migrate more freely in lung cancer patients. More people suffer — and die — from lung cancer than any other kind. Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an extremely aggressive form of lung cancer thanks to its tendency to metastasise quickly, spreading to other organs early. In order to migrate, metastasising tumour cells have to break free of the extracellular matrix (ECM), the network of material around our cells which supports them and binds them to each other. That’s where this particular gene, Fam38A, comes into the story. Continue reading →

From chimps to chickens: how a little DNA can make a lot of difference

06 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by sedeer in Development, Evolution, Genetics

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

alternative splicing, animals, biology, DNA, Gene, Genome, mammal, Messenger RNA, Popular science, RNA sequencing, RNA splicing, science, Species, Transcriptome, vertebrate

Humans and chimpanzees famously share more than 98% of their genome and yet the two species look and behave quite differently. This apparent paradox stretches well beyond our little corner of the tree of life; we share more than half our genes with chickens and those we share are 75% identical. Two studies published together in the December issue of Science tackled this perplexing discrepancy by showing that there may be more to a genome than meets the eye. Continue reading →

Christmas post: Let it snow!

22 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by sedeer in Complex systems, Development

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Christmas, crystal, Crystal growth, Crystallization, Ice, ice crystal, Popular science, science, snow, Snowflake, winter

Snowflakes, with their intricate patterns and captivating symmetry, are entrancingly beautiful and have become a ubiquitous icon of winter. Reading D’Arcy Thompson’s On Growth and Form during the plentiful and early snowfall we’ve enjoyed in southern Finland this winter, I couldn’t help but wonder how these remarkable structures form. I decided the right response would be to write a post about it and avail myself of the opportunity to learn about something new. We’re having a white Christmas in Finland, but wherever you are and whatever the weather may be, read on to find out what makes snowflakes so beautiful and whether each one really is unique. Continue reading →