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| The evolution of flight is the most important feature of birds, and this ability has helped them become one of the most successful groups of vertebrates. However some species have independently lost their ability to fly. The degeneration of flight ability is a long process, and some species remain transitional locomotive models. Most of the energy required for locomotion is supplied by mitochon... more |
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| Many gene-encoded neurotoxins with various functions have been discovered in fish, reptiles, and mammals. A novel 60-residue neurotoxin peptide (anntoxin) that inhibited tetrodotoxin-sensitive (TTX-S) voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) was purified and characterized from the skin secretions of the tree frog Hyla annectans (Jerdon). This is the first gene-encoded neurotoxin found in amphibians.... more |
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| Pancreatic RNase genes implicated in the adaptation of the colobine monkeys to leaf-eating have long intrigued evolutionary biologists since the identification of a duplicated RNASE1 gene with enhanced digestive efficiencies in Pygathrix nemaeus. The recent emergence of two contrasting hypotheses, i.e., independent duplication and one duplication event hypotheses, make it into focus again. Curr... more |
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By Elizabeth Pennisi
ScienceNOW Daily News
1 September 2009
The latest "made in China" item isn't a plastic widget or a pair of shoes. It's a dog. A new study suggests that wolves were first domesticated in Southeast Asia some 16,000 years ago. The work is the latest volley in a long-standing debate about just where canine companionship got its start.
Most researchers agree that... more |
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| Recent studies made by a group of CAS scientists may shed light on a new approach for demystifying the complicated pathogenesis of the AIDS, i.e., the formative mechanism of HIV infection at the molecular level. The pioneering work provides new clues for stemming the genetic pathway needed for propagation of the killer epidemic. The research result has been published by two monographic journals... more |
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