Gizmorama - February 12, 2014

Good Morning,

When I read a title like this - Genetic study of pigeon color could yield clues to human skin diseases - two things go through my head: What? and I've got to read about this!

Learn about these interesting stories from the scientific community in today's issue.

Until Next Time,
Erin

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*-- Genetic study of pigeon color could yield clues to human skin diseases --*
SALT LAKE CITY - Mutations in key genes determine feather color in domestic pigeons, and the same genes control pigmentation of human skin, U.S. researchers say. "Mutations in these genes can be responsible for skin diseases and conditions such as melanoma and albinism," University of Utah biologist Michael Shapiro said. "In humans, mutations of these genes often are considered 'bad' because they can cause albinism or make cells more susceptible to UV (ultraviolet sunlight) damage and melanoma because the protective pigment is absent or low," study lead author Eric Domyan said. "In pigeons, mutations of these same genes cause different feather colors, and to pigeon hobbyists that is a very good thing." Pigeon breeders have drawn on centuries-long experience to produce about 350 distinct pigeon breeds, many bred for different plumage color, but until this study the specific mutations that control color in pigeons were unknown, the researchers said. "Across all pigeon breeds, mutations in three major genes explain a huge amount of color variation," Shapiro said. Knowledge of how the genes work could yield potential targets for treatment of melanoma in humans, the researchers said, and an understanding of how mutations can lead to changes in skin color including albinism. "Our work provides new insights about how mutations in these genes affect their functions and how the genes work together," Shapiro said. "Many traits in animals, including susceptibility to diseases such as cancer, are controlled by more than one gene. To understand how these genes work together to produce a trait, we often have to move beyond studies of humans."


*-- Scientists probe mystery of early 'dead' galaxies in the universe --*
COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Danish scientists say cosmic collisions created enormously massive galaxies already old and no longer forming new stars in the very early universe. Astronomers have long been puzzled by the existence of such galaxies just 3 billion years after the Big Bang. Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen have determined these massive galaxies were formed by explosive star formation set in motion by the collision of galaxies not long after the Big Bang, the university reported Wednesday. The first stars already emerged in the very early universe around 200 million years after the Big Bang from the gases hydrogen and helium, and astronomers say they believe the structure of the universe was built by baby galaxies gradually growing larger and more massive by constantly forming new stars and by colliding with neighboring galaxies to form new, larger galaxies. That suggests the largest galaxies in today's universe have been under construction throughout the history of the universe, they said. Astronomers were therefore surprised to find galaxies existing when the universe was just 3 billion years old that were just as massive as today's large spiral galaxies and the largest elliptical galaxies,, institute researcher Sune Toft said. "Furthermore, the galaxies were already dead, so they were no longer forming new stars. It was a great mystery," he said. Toft said he believed there must have been some especially extreme galaxies involved in the formation process. "We studied the galaxies that existed when the universe was between 1 and 2 billion years old. My theory that it must have been some galaxies with very specific properties that were part of the formation process made me focus on the special SMG [submillimeter] galaxies, which are dominated by intense star formation hidden under a thick blanket of dust." Such galaxies quickly ate through their gas reserves in around 40 million years and stopped star formation when the universe was still relatively young, he said. Large galaxies were formed by collisions of these small "baby" galaxies, but did not create further stars. "Just 3 billion years after the Big Bang we see that half of the most massive galaxies have already completed their star formation," he said.

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