The FTO gene was designated in previous studies as "the obesity gene." Now, new research has managed to identify another gene associated with this serious health problem that more than 60% of the Spanish population suffers. The new gene, called IRX3, would be responsible for the increase in body fat.
As Aristotle said, all human beings are "political animals" and each one has a way of understanding public affairs. But to what extent does inheritance weigh on our vision of society? Do we come into the world with a serial ideology? Well, it seems that genes have a lot of influence, as shown by two recent investigations.
Common butterflies can be easy targets for insect predators. However, thanks to a new study led by scientists from the National Center for Biological Sciences of India and the University of Chicago (USA) they have discovered that the gene that controls gender and sexual differences in insects, the so-called doublesex, is the “culprit” of an incredible survival ability: it allows certain butterflies to mimic the colors and wing structures of other toxic species, keeping predators at bay thanks to their vivid colors.
A group of scientists from various Chinese and Scottish universities has stated this in their recent study published in the journal PLoS Genetics. The "laziness gene" would explain why some people find it so difficult to move or do physical activity and, therefore, their higher obesity rate.
The practice of meditation, apart from the psychological benefit, causes a feeling of physical relaxation in our body. A study by the University of Wisconsin-Madisonha (USA) with the collaboration of a Spanish and French center has shown indications that the effects of this state of mental abstraction could go beyond muscle distension, by generating an alteration in the expression of our genes.
George Church, born in 1954, is a geneticist, molecular and chemical engineer, and a renowned professor in genetics at Harvard University (USA). He is considered a pioneer in synthetic biology, a discipline whose goal is to create synthetic organisms and DNA in the laboratory.
Genetics are essential in nature, however, although they share the same DNA, two twins are not exactly the same. Research that has just been published in the journal Science appears to have solved the mystery. Some regions of DNA that do not code for proteins but that decrease or increase the expression of genes are responsible for some features, such as the shape of the face.
Spanish scientists from the University of the Basque Country have shown that the gene for red hair, V60L, appeared 50,000 years ago, when humans left the warm climate of the African continent and moved to northern Europe.
Danni Büchner is invited to Sam Dylan's Halloween party. But the "Goodbye Germany" emigrant has no desire for many other party guests. And find clear words.
