#91: Life/Brain Genes Evolution: 1) Self. 2) Social. 08.6.23=1 - 8.24=1 11am.

#91: Life/Brain Genes Evolution: 1)Self. 2)Social. 08.6.23 - 08.8.24:
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1) Self:------------------------
1) 1. ' How biological 'alchemy' can change a cell's destiny ' http://tinyurl.com/5uutzc
1) 2. 'Ancient shark had colossal bite' http://tinyurl.com/6a4l6b
1) 3. ' 'Sensational' fossil illuminates birth of dinosaurs ' http://tinyurl.com/5gnlfu

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2) Social:----------------------
2) ' Science News: New Discovery Proves 'Selfish Gene' Exists ' http://tinyurl.com/64vaaf
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1) Self:------------------------
1) 1. ' How biological 'alchemy' can change a cell's destiny ' Peter Aldhous, NewScientist Magazine issue 2661: Jun18,08: http://tinyurl.com/5uutzc

: "" CALL it biological alchemy: specialist pancreatic cells that secrete digestive enzymes have been converted directly into insulin-producing beta cells. Meanwhile, epithelial cells from the back of the eye have been coaxed into becoming a versatile, new type of stem cell.

Both advances, reported last week in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), may take us closer to a "regenerative" approach to repairing damaged tissue. And both are products of a wave of enthusiasm that has built since Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University in Japan showed that it is possible to "reprogram" adult cells back to an embryonic state. It's "Shinya-mania", jokes George Daley of the Children's Hospital Boston.

Yamanaka infected skin cells with retroviruses carrying the genes for four transcription factors - proteins that regulate the activity of other genes by binding to DNA. The viruses inserted themselves ...

The complete article is 1049 words long. ""


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1) 2. Ancient gigantic shark: http://tinyurl.com/6a4l6b
'Ancient shark had colossal bite' Jennifer Carpenter, Science reporter, BBC News: Monday, 4 August 2008 14:20 UK

: "" The great white shark may have awesome jaws but they are nothing compared with those of megalodon, its gigantic, whale-eating ancestor.

A new study of the extinct creature's skull shows it had an almighty bite, making the prehistoric fish one of the most fearsome predators of all time.

All the more remarkable, scientists say, because the crushing force came from jaws made of cartilage, not bone.

The researchers report their skull work in the Journal of Zoology.

The megalodon super-shark swam in the oceans more than a million-and-a-half years ago. "


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1) 3. ' 'Sensational' fossil illuminates birth of dinosaurs ' Harry de Quetteville: Aug22,08: http://tinyurl.com/5gnlfu

: An archaeological dig in central Germany has unearthed fossils which could be the oldest record of dinosaur life ever.


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' Science News: New Discovery Proves 'Selfish Gene' Exists ' ScienceDaily (June 22, 2008) http://tinyurl.com/64vaaf

The research will be published in the July issue of Genetics.
Adapted from materials provided by University of Western Ontario.
Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the following formats: APA MLA
University of Western Ontario (2008, June 22). New Discovery Proves 'Selfish Gene' Exists. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 23, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/06/080620115905.htm

In a honey bee colony, a complex social breeding system described as a 'super-organism,' female worker bees are sterile. (Credit: iStockphoto/Florin Tirlea)

: "" A new discovery by a scientist from The University of Western Ontario provides conclusive evidence which supports decades-old evolutionary doctrines long accepted as fact.

Since renowned British biologist Richard Dawkins ("The God Delusion") introduced the concept of the 'selfish gene' in 1976, scientists the world over have hailed the theory as a natural extension to the work of Charles Darwin.

In studying genomes, the word 'selfish' does not refer to the human-describing adjective of self-centered behavior but rather to the blind tendency of genes wanting to continue their existence into the next generation. Ironically, this 'selfish' tendency can appear anything but selfish when the gene does move ahead for selfless and even self-sacrificing reasons.

For instance, in the honey bee colony, a complex social breeding system described as a 'super-organism,' the female worker bees are sterile. The adult queen bee, selected and developed by the worker bees, is left to mate with the male drones.

Because the 'selfish' gene controlling worker sterility has never been isolated by scientists, the understanding of how reproductive altruism can evolve has been entirely theoretical -- until now.

Working with Peter Oxley of the University of Sydney in Australia, Western biology professor Graham Thompson has, for the first time-ever, isolated a region on the honey bee genome that houses this 'selfish' gene in female workers bees.

This means that the 'selfish' gene does exist, not just in theory but in reality. "We don't know exactly which gene it is, but we're getting close."

"This basically provides a validation for a huge body of socio-biology," says Thompson, who adds the completion of Honey Bee Genome Project in 2006 was crucial to this discovery. ""