News by Subject Medicine & Health

There are striking similarities in the development of two types of specialized sensory cells: the so-called 'hair cells' that receive sound vibrations in the inner ear, and the Merkel cells that sense light touch at the surface of the skin. These developmental similarities are a legacy of shared evolutionary history.

An international research group led by Kobe University's Professor TAKUMI Toru has revealed a causal gene (Necdin, NDN) in autism model mice that have the chromosomal abnormality called copy number variation. The researchers hope to illuminate this gene's molecular mechanism in order to contribute towards the creation of new treatment strategies for developmental disorders.

A new study by researchers at the University of Maryland provides a potential tool for unraveling the mystery of how experiences can cause inheritable changes to an animal's biology. By mating nematode worms, they produced permanent epigenetic changes that lasted for more than 300 generations. The research was published in the journal Nature Communications.

If you've ever been to an eye doctor, there's a good chance you've felt the sudden puff of air to the eye that constitutes a traditional test for glaucoma. It's no one's favorite experience, but the puff is non-invasive and harmless. Scientists use a similar method to test learning and memory in animals and humans.

In mosquitofish, of the genus Gambusia, male fish are smaller than females - sometimes only half the size. Biologists had previously assumed that smaller male mosquitofish had at least some reproductive advantages. Researchers from the transregional collaborative research centre NC³ at Bielefeld University have shown in a systematic review and meta-analysis that larger mosquitofish are actually more successful at reproduction. The re-searchers are presenting their findings today (07.07.2021) in the Journal of Animal Ecology.

The findings, described in a study published in PLOS Genetics, expand on the complex role of a region of the genome of Wolbachia called Octomom, which is known to regulate its growth inside the host. And bring to light a paradox. If Octomom is deleted, Wolbachia grows uncontrolled inside the host. If amplified, with extra copies, it also grows uncontrolled. Both absence and excess lead to the same observable characteristic.