Thefruitfly, orDrosophila melanogasterare a frequent subject of genetics research, and have provided answers on how genes function. Like the fruit fly, humans can also eat a wide range of food types, and are are known as "nutritional generalists." On the other hand, some genetic cousins of ...
Life, for most of us, ends far too soon — hence the effort by biomedical researchers to find ways to delay the aging process and extend our stay on Earth. But there’s a paradox at the heart of the science of aging: The vast majority of research focuses on fruit f...
Many students of high school biology learned about fruit flies: the tiny, winged creatures with red or white eyes that teach us about chromosomes, DNA, and dominant and recessive genes. It’s the study of genetics at a basic level. But to understand complex gene interactions — the kind of...
All these parameters should then be used in advanced modeling approaches, to solve one of the most fundamental and puzzling questions in genetics and evolutionary biology. Acknowledgments We thank Dr. Barbara B. Sears (Michigan State University) for critical reading and fruitful discussi...
How is the human genome used? The primary work of the Human Genome Project has been to produce three main research tools that will allow investigators toidentify genes involved in normal biologyas well as in both rare and common diseases. These tools are known as positional cloning (Collins 19...
One of my undergraduate professors at Queen’s University in Ontario Canada, Fred Cooke, did a long-term study of the ecological genetics and life history evolution in a population of snow geese breeding at Churchill Manitoba. One focus was to understand how the two morphs are maintained in th...
N. MAJERUS Department of Genetics, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EH, U.K. Maternally-inherited male killing microorganisms are known in a number of insect species. We here discuss the evolutionary reasons for such behaviour through examining the ongoing dynamics of these elements. In cases where...
Here are some caterpillar pictures taken 2 years ago (I am terribly behind). All were found in various parks in eastern Michigan, which is where I live. First up is acatalpa sphinx moth caterpillar(Ceratomia catalpae). I used to see lots of these when I was growing up, but I think ...
As if there weren’t enough of them in the world already scientists have succeeded in cloning flies. The alike fruit flies are the first insects ever cloned says the Canadian team that created them. The question everyone asks is why anyone would want to clone flies in the first place. She...
Thomas Hunt Morganwas the first Nobel Laureate to win for research in genetics. He grew up in Lexington, Kentucky. This year, 2016, is the 150th anniversary of his birth – a notable milestone in biological science history. But it passed largely unnoticed. Nevertheless, Morgan was the first...