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more about #genomics pixysix: For the record, I love the gay community. I lived on Davie street in Vancouver for three years and it's a very endearing community. I just want to cla... more » Jackrabbit6179: Here's an interesting thought: "To reduce reproductive success of competitors." So, as a gay man, I'm part of "nature's" birth control? Given the ra... more » Klebert L. Hall: A lot of it is probably just epiphenomenal. Not everything has to happen for an evolutionarily important reason. Plenty of animals masturbate, too - ... more » korybing: Agree with this chart or not, we all have to admit that those are some sassy human silhouettes. I've always found this sort of research extremely int... more » NotChoinski: Just admit it. Orange chromide chiclids are lazy sluts. more » firstofnormalin: "..always excellent New Scientist..." NO! New Scientist is the Sun of online science mags. Between "Darwin Was Wrong!" and the Magnetic Universe koo... more » DrMathochist: Wait, which genes in particular are these they cite in humans? Can someone link me to reports on "a single copy of a gene promotes survival, but two ... more » NerD: Blattella: This just proves scientifically that dolphins are perverts. more » cadrina: "the idea that certain genes somehow increase fitness in individuals who possess a single copy of them but are associated with same-sex behaviour in p... more » hwilam: This chart is great! Wait... "Provide resources to siblings?" How? (please help! we've been arguing this for a while now and can't figure it out!) more » kagekiri: I thought the idea of homosexuality becoming the social norm in "The Forever War" was pretty interesting, but I hadn't realized they narrowed down the... more » MonkeyT: "always excellent New Scientist", well, if you're into speculative fiction, that fits. If you actually want science, it's more like 60%-70% excellent... more » lightninglouie: I'm sure Orson Scott Card is hard at work right now on a story about a group of plucky preadolescent adventurers working to stamp out homosexuality th... more » Klebert L. Hall: You know, there really aren't very many monkeys, and there's over six billion of us... Not to mention that we have speech and technology, and have sh... more » Bootknife-Jackson: sweet, i'll sign up for that trial! so i'll be susceptible to even the tiniest of infection, so what, i'll just flex the infection out through my pore... more » evan7257: So you'd have to attach it to a virus that can infect you, even without immunosuppressants. Did somebody say SuperAIDS? Marauding hoards of superstron... more » botanicidal: Forget Planet of the Apes, one more injection, and we may be dying by the sounds of, "KAH-MAY-HAH-MAY-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" more » BoomingEchoes: no no no no no no no no no.. First they figure out what they need to do to make monkeys talk now this?! Monkey's are already strong enough! This does... more » ♠ Final ♠: Just take away their hands so they can't use our firearms against us. What do you mean they can shoot with their feet? more » SilverBlade2k: This sounded good until " immunosuppressant drugs are a necessary component of the therapy". No..freaking..way more » -
#madscience
Charting the Possible Evolution of Same-Sex Liaisons
Same-sex sexual behavior has evolved multiple times in various animals, including mammals, birds, fish, and even insects. Researchers are increasingly finding that the reasons such behaviors evolved are as varied as the animals themselves. More » -
#madscience
Gene Therapy Creates Superstrong Monkeys
It's not quite a supersoldier serum, but researchers have increased strength and muscle mass in monkeys with a small genetic tweak. And human trials for the technique are just on the horizon. More » -
#madscience
One Gene Tweak Could Make Chimps Talk
The reason why humans speak and chimps don't is dependent on one gene, called FOXP2. New research reveals more about how humans' FOXP2 leads to speech. Could genetic engineering on chimps bring on a Planet of the Apes scenario?
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#madscience
Bad Driving Could be in Your Genes
Know someone who seems congenitally incapable of driving? A new study suggests that a genetic variant may, in fact, be responsible for poor driving skills — and it's a variant nearly one third of Americans possess. More » -
#madscience
Naked Mole Rats Have Anti-Cancer Superpowers
Naked mole rats might be the most awesomely peculiar mammals in existence; they possess ants' hive mind-like qualities, feel no pain, and are completely immune to cancer. And researchers have finally unlocked the secret to their remarkable cancer-fighting powers. More » -
#madscience
Gene Therapy Has Color-Blind Monkeys Seeing Red (and Green)
Genetic color-blindness may soon be a thing of the past. A team of scientists has used gene therapy to enable adult squirrel monkeys to see color for the first time, and they believe their technique could someday work on humans. More » -
#madgenomics
Fabricate Your Own DNA Evidence
DNA evidence has become the gold standard for criminal investigations, but researchers in Israel say that finding DNA at a crime scene may not be evidence of a crime, but rather the handiwork of a clever biology student. More » -
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#evolution
Were Africans The First People To Domesticate Dogs?
Though many believe that domestic dogs originated in Eurasia, new research shows that the human-dog bond may have begun in the cradle of human evolution: Africa. A study published this week cites evidence from the DNA of African village dogs. More » -
#madscience
Regrow Lost Teeth! (With An Optional Fluorescent Glow)
It's a huge scientific breakthrough: a team from Tokyo's Research Institute for Science and Technology has designed a method for regrowing lost teeth. But you could also call it the newest bio-punk accessory: the regrown teeth have a fluorescent glow. More » -
#madscience
Scientists Create Families of Mutant, Drug-Producing Rats
An entire industry is now devoted to producing pharmaceuticals from carefully-mutated animals. Now a biotech company has invented a way to create families of mutant rats who produce antibodies that could sold as medicine. More » -
#medicalmystery
Infant-Sized Teenager May Provide Key to Reversing the Aging Process
Brooke Greenberg looks like a toddler, but she is actually sixteen years old. She is only 30 inches high. Now scientists are studying her genome to figure out whether she possesses a mutation that prevents her body from aging. More » -
#madscience
Transgenic Mice Engineered With A Human Gene For Speech
A team of German scientists have created a batch of transgenic mice with a human gene for speech. Could they be the prototypes for future hyper-intelligent rodents? More » -
#geneticengineering
A Drug To Re-Awaken Ancient Human Genes And Fight HIV
"Junk DNA" are inactive parts of your genome, switched off long ago in evolutionary history. Now scientists say there's a junk gene that fights HIV. And they've discovered how to turn it back on.
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#evolution
Download Your Genomes on BitTorrent
Today a group of researchers announced they would be releasing several people's genome sequences online. Anyone can download or repurpose the data, which will be shared on BitTorrent and other file-sharing networks. More » -
#evolution
A New Explanation for the Way Humans Evolved from Apes
It's Charles Darwin's 200th birthday, and we still don't know why humans and chimps share 99 percent of their DNA, yet are such different animals. A new study published today advances a weird new theory.
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#madscience
A Medicine That Can Make You Schizophrenic and Then Sane Again
A new form of gene therapy could make you insane, then set you right again. More »
