Ability for a Smoother Horseback Ride is from a Mutation

The Vikings may be the ones to thank for the ability to have an easier ride while horseback riding.  Scientists have traced the event to around 850-900 C.E. when the Vikings had possibly brought horses from the UK to Iceland.  The horses were bred in Iceland and then spread throughout Europe.  This information comes from the mutation detected in the DMRT3 gene.

Scientists first detected a mutation in the gene DMRT3, which influences limb movements, in all ambling horses in 2012, but they weren’t sure how it changed the horses’ gait.

 It is possible that the mutation actually effects the developing spinal cord in a way that allows longer strides to occur giving the horses their 4 beat rhythm.

http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(16)30752-7

The ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ Helped Scientists Discover a New Gene Tied to A.L.S.

The Ice Bucket Challenge helped raise $115 million dollars two summers ago for the A.L.S. Association.  These fund were divided into different part such as, 67% went to the research, 20% to patient and community services, 9% to public and professional education, 2% to fund raisers, and another 2% to payment fees. Researchers have discovered a new gene by the name of NEK1 that contributed to the disease A.L.S., which shows about 3% of A.L.S. cases were affected.  According to the vice president of communication and development for the A.L.S. Association, "Treatment won't be limited".





http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/28/health/the-ice-bucket-challenge-helped-scientists-discover-a-new-gene-tied-to-als.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=sectionfront

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ice-bucket-challenge-funds-discovery-gene-linked-als-article-1.2726954

Gene Activity After Death

Studying dead organisms for signs of activity during life may seem like a back story for The Walking Dead, but in reality the topic is bringing forth some interesting information.  Peter Noble from the University of Washington in Seattle and a few of his colleagues have been looking into the activity of genes after the death of mice and zebrafish.  There has been evidence of activity in mice 2 days postmortem, and 4 days in the zebrafish.  Though this may seem a bit morbid, the findings are fascinating!  Some of the genes that show activity are responsible for spurring inflammation, firing the immune system and counteracting stress.  An interesting finding is the evidence of developmental genes turning on, even though they are not needed after birth.

Explanations for these genes turning on after death include that genes that were responsible for keeping them silent had turned off in death.  Learning more about what happens after death could benefit a few different professions.  This could assist in preserving organs for transplant during travel or could also help criminal investigators pinpoint a more accurate time of death.

“The headline of this study is that we can probably get a lot of information about life by studying death.” - Peter Noble

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/some-genes-remain-alive-days-after-body-dies-180959552/?no-ist

How Did Farming Expand?

Farming has brought numerous benefits to various societies across the globe.  Scientists have been trying to figure out how exactly how farming spread to different societies.  They are specifically paying attention to the comparison between the ideas of farming having been developed initially in the Fertile Crescent and spread through society or if it was developed individually in various areas around similar time frames.

A single group did carry farming to Europe: DNA from ancient farmers in western Anatolia shows that they were the direct ancestors of Europe’s first farmers, known as the Linear Pottery culture; present-day Sardinians share the most DNA with these ancient Anatolians. But the trail of the first farmers went cold in the hot climate of the Middle East, which destroys DNA.

 Though there is evidence of farming being taught, there is still debate as to how the techniques initially began to grow and spread.  Various local societies used different tools in their farming suggesting that it was independently developed.  Though there is also evidence that these various local societies traded obsidan (a volcanic glass), so there is a high possibility that seeds and farming knowledge was also traded.  Of course there is a third option of both occurring!