Mutations of DNA that lead to one base being replaced by another don’t have to happen as single, independent events in humans and other eukaryotes, a group of Indiana University Bloomington biologists has learned after surveying several creatures’ genomes.

And, the scientists argue, if “point mutations” can happen in twos, threes — even nines – large evolutionary jumps are possible, especially when problems caused by a single point mutation are immediately compensated for by a second or third. The work appears in the latest issue of Current Biology. (more…)

The Human Homeobox (HOX) Genes RT² Profiler™ PCR Array profiles the expression of 84 HOX genes involved in multicellular organismal development. HOX genes encode a group of homeodomain-containing transcription factors, which were initially described as controlling segmental patterning during development. Recently, their importance has been reemphasized by stem cell and cancer researches. Although these HOX genes have been grouped according to their established roles in multicellular organismal development, their true function in your cellular systems is waiting to be discovered by you. Using real-time PCR, you can easily and reliably analyze expression of a focused panel of HOX genes with this array.

from the webpage of Qiagen (more…)

Paleontologists have discovered that a group of remarkable ancient sea creatures existed for much longer and grew to much larger sizes than previously thought, thanks to extraordinarily well-preserved fossils discovered in Morocco.

The creatures, known as anomalocaridids, were already thought to be the largest animals of the Cambrian period, known for the “Cambrian Explosion” that saw the sudden appearance of all the major animal groups and the establishment of complex ecosystems about 540 to 500 million years ago. Fossils from this period suggested these marine predators grew to be about two feet long. Until now, scientists also thought these strange invertebrates—which had long spiny head limbs presumably used to snag worms and other prey, and a circlet of plates around the mouth—died out at the end of the Cambrian. (more…)

Deadly bacteria may be evolving antibiotic resistance by mimicking human proteins, according to a new study by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

This process of “molecular mimicry” may help explain why bacterial human pathogens, many of which were at one time easily treatable with antibiotics, have re-emerged in recent years as highly infectious public health threats, according to the study published May 26 in the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) One. (more…)

A new gene expression technique adapted for single molecule sequencing has enabled researchers at the RIKEN Omics Science Center (OSC) to accurately and quantitatively measure gene expression levels using only 100 nanograms of total RNA. The technique, which pairs RIKEN’s Cap Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE) protocol with the Helicos® Genetic Analysis System developed by Helicos BioSciences Corporation, opens the door to the detailed analysis of gene expression networks and rare cell populations. (more…)

Until a recent discovery, theories about the origins and evolutionary relationships of snakes barely had a leg to stand on.

Genetic studies suggest that snakes are related to monitor lizards and iguanas, while their anatomy points to amphisbaenians (”worm lizards”), a group of burrowing lizards with snake-like bodies. The debate has been unresolved–until now. The recent discovery by researchers from the University of Toronto Mississauga and the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Germany of a tiny, 47 million-year-old fossil of a lizard called Cryptolacerta hassiaca provides the first anatomical evidence that the body shapes of snakes and limbless lizards evolved independently. (more…)

Carbon found within ancient rocks has played a crucial role developing a time line for the emergence of biological life on the planet billions of years ago. But applying cutting-edge technology to samples of ancient rocks from northern Canada has revealed the carbon-based minerals may be much younger than the rock they inhabit, a team of researchers report in the latest edition of the journal Nature Geoscience.

The team – which includes researchers from Boston College, the Carnegie Institution of Washington, NASA’s Johnson Space Center and the Naval Research Laboratory – says new evidence from Canada’s Hudson Bay region shows carbonaceous particles are millions of years younger than the rock in which they’re found, pointing to the likelihood that the carbon was mixed in with the metamorphic rock later than the rock’s earliest formation – estimated to be 3.8 to 4.2 billion years ago. (more…)

A fossil unearthed in China in the 1970s of a creature that died about 247 million years ago, originally thought to be a distant relative of both birds and crocodiles, turns out to have come from the crocodile family tree after it had already split from the bird family tree, according to research led by a University of Washington paleontologist.

The only known specimen of Xilousuchus sapingensis has been reexamined and is now classified as an archosaur. Archosaurs, characterized by skulls with long, narrow snouts and teeth set in sockets, include dinosaurs as well as crocodiles and birds. (more…)

The classification of animals and plants is done based on the physical characteristics. The order of classification follows this pattern: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.

As one can see the largest groups are the kingdoms. All living things on our planet can be divided in 5 kingdoms. Most animals belong to the kingdom Animalia, and most plants belong to the kingdom Plantae. The other 3 kingdoms are Protista which contains one-celled animals like protozoan, whereas Monera include simple plants and animals like bacteria and blue-green algae, and lastly Fungi consists of molds, mushrooms, and yeasts.
Animals can be divided mainly into two main groups, vertebrates (with a backbone -chordata) and invertebrates (without a backbone – Non chordates).
The next category is the Phylum. There are several phyla within each kingdom. The phyla tend to break the animals plants etc) into smaller and more recognizable groups. (more…)