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dna

SCIENCE: Are There Creativity Genes?

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Creativity - Pixabay

Creativity could be one of the main reasons Homo sapiens survived and dominated over related species such as Neanderthals and chimpanzees, according to a new study. The idea that creativity may have given Homo sapiens a survival edge over Neanderthals has been around a long time, said senior author Dr. Claude Robert Cloninger, a professor emeritus in the psychiatry and genetics departments at Washington University in St. Louis. But that’s a tricky case to prove, as we still don’t know how creative Neanderthals actually were, he said. “The problem with evaluating creativity in extinct species is, of course, you can’t … Read more

SCIENCE: Is There a Creativity Gene?

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Creativity - Deposit Photos

Creativity could be one of the main reasons Homo sapiens survived and dominated over related species such as Neanderthals and chimpanzees, according to a new study. The idea that creativity may have given Homo sapiens a survival edge over Neanderthals has been around a long time, said senior author Dr. Claude Robert Cloninger, a professor emeritus in the psychiatry and genetics departments at Washington University in St. Louis. But that’s a tricky case to prove, as we still don’t know how creative Neanderthals actually were, he said. “The problem with evaluating creativity in extinct species is, of course, you can’t … Read more

Scientists Make Human-Monkey Embryos

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dna - pixabay

Scientists injected dozens of human stem cells into developing monkey embryos, and the resulting hybrids survived for up to 20 days in lab dishes. These human-monkey embryos could someday serve as helpful models for human disease, embryonic development and aging, the study authors noted in a new report, published April 15 in the journal Cell. By zooming in on the interaction of human and animal cells in the embryos, scientists could also learn how to help human cells survive amongst animal cells, potentially advancing the effort to grow human organs in living animal models. Such studies would offer a window … Read more

SCIENCE: You Have a Sea Monster Inside of You

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Sea Monster - Pixabay

More than half a billion years ago, headless sea creatures that looked like leaves, teardrops and coils of rope trawled the primeval seas. Although these primordial animals looked nothing like us, some of our most important genes may be 555-million-year-old relics from these long-lost creatures, according to a new study. The study found that Earth’s earliest and most primitive animals may have had genes that code for body symmetry, sensory organs and immune systems that are still around today. Animals of the Ediacaran era were flat, bottom-feeding ocean dwellers that scoured the seafloor. They were truly otherworldly in appearance; some, … Read more

SPACE: Will We Need to Tweak Our DNA to Colonize Mars?

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Mars - NASA

If humanity is ever going to settle down on Mars, we may need to become a little less human. Crewed missions to Mars, which NASA wants to start flying in the 2030s, will be tough on astronauts, exposing them to high radiation loads, bone-wasting microgravity and other hazards for several years at a time. But these pioneers should still be able to make it back to Earth in relatively good nick, agency officials have said. It might be a different story for those who choose not to come home, however. If we want to stay safe and healthy while living … Read more

Gene Tweak Extends Life 500% (If You’re This Worm)

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roundworm - deposit photos

By tweaking a few key genes in the DNA of a roundworm, scientists have extended the animal’s life span by about 500%. That’s a huge jump in life: An average roundworm lives for about three to four weeks. But when unencumbered of two specific genes — DAF-2 and RSKS-1 — the creatures can survive for several months. Scientists had linked these genes to longevity years ago, noting an increase in the life span of worms and other creatures when these genes are switched off. However, the exact role of the genes in the aging process remained a mystery. Now, researchers … Read more

SPACE: Could “Water Bear” DNA Help Us Survive on mars?

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tardigrade - deposit photos

Will we one day combine tardigrade DNA with our cells to go to Mars? Chris Mason, a geneticist and associate professor of physiology and biophysics at Weill Cornell University in New York, has investigated the genetic effects of spaceflight and how humans might overcome these challenges to expand our species farther into the solar system. One of the (strangest) ways that we might protect future astronauts on missions to places like Mars, Mason said, might involve the DNA of tardigrades, tiny micro-animals that can survive the most extreme conditions, even the vacuum of space! Mason led one of the 10 … Read more

DNA Analysis – No Monster in Loch Ness (Sad Emoji)

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loch ness - pixabay

The Loch Ness monster has haunted a deep Scottish lake for more than 1,000 years — in imagination, at least. But a scientific survey of the waters of Loch Ness found it contains no traces of “monster” DNA at all, adding weight to the already-likely prospect that “Nessie” doesn’t really exist. Geneticist Neil Gemmell of Otago University in New Zealand said an environmental DNA survey of Loch Ness saw no signs it was home to any giant reptiles or aquatic dinosaurs – a theory sometimes used to explain the mysterious monster, which has reportedly been seen several times since the … Read more

SCIENCE: CRISPR Is “Not As Safe As We Thought”

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DNA - Pixabay

Like a molecular ninja, the genome-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 slices through ultraspecific segments of DNA to cut out unwanted bits of genetic code. It’s a precise and promising method of genetic editing that’s widely used in scientific research. And scientists hope it could one day be used to selectively remove genes that result in medical problems such as HIV, sickle cell disease and cancer. Unfortunately, a new study published today (July 16) in the journal Nature Biotechnology suggests that this day may be further off than expected — and that CRISPR’s cellular swordsmanship may result in much more collateral damage than … Read more

FOR WRITERS: Designer Babies

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child butterfly wings - pixabay

FOR WRITERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Aidee Ladnier: We’ve all heard the scare tactics of politicians warning of the dangers of designer babies, but genetically modified humans are literally due to be born in the next decade. Medical science has made our lives longer and healthier. But what if scientists modify those things that make us fundamentally who we are? Why is it okay to make sure a child is not born with a genetic disease that will kill them prematurely (like cystic fibrosis) but not okay to give an child a higher IQ which would give it … Read more