In all living organisms, genes are regulated by proteins called transcription factors. The established model states that a gene is switched off as long as a repressing transcription factor is bound to the DNA. For the first time ever, researchers at Uppsala University, Sweden, have been able to study the process in living cells, showing that it may be more complex than previously thought.
This week in Nature, a team of French and Swedish researchers present new fossil evidence for the origin of one of the most important and emotionally significant parts of our anatomy: the face. They show how a series of fossils documents the step-by-step assembly of the face during the evolutionary transition from jawless to jawed vertebrates.
The growing problem of resistance to antibiotics is very costly, both in human lives and in resources. Uppsala University is now to be a leading actor in a gigantic EU-funded project in which academia, the pharmaceutical industry and the biotechnology industry will collaborate to fast-track the development of new antibiotics.
Yoho National Park’s 505-million-year-old Burgess Shale – home to some of the planet’s earliest animals is one of the world’s most important fossil sites. Now, more than a century after its discovery a new Burgess Shale fossil bed, Marble Canyon, has been located 42 kilometres away in Kootenay National Park.
At this year’s Celsius-Linnaeus lectures at Uppsala University on February 13, top international researchers will present new findings about the development of the universe and about human evolution and their significance for our living conditions.
Retrieval of ancient DNA molecules is usually performed with special precautions to prevent DNA from researchers or the environment to get mixed in with the DNA from the fossil. However, many ancient fossils have been lying in museum collection for decades, and are contaminated with present-day human DNA before they enter the DNA-laboratory.
Ancient DNA from early Iberian farmers shows that the wideheld evolutionary hypothesis of calcium absorption was not the only reason Europeans evolved milk tolerance.
Contrary to common belief, mitochondrial genes seem to matter for how well individuals survive and reproduce. These new results are reported by researchers at Uppsala University, Sweden, who studied the genes of a common beetle species.
Dinosaur fossils are exceptionally rare in the Arabian Peninsula. An international team of scientists from Uppsala University, Museum Victoria, Monash University, and the Saudi Geological Survey have now uncovered the first record of dinosaurs from Saudi Arabia.
A new study from Uppsala University, Sweden, shows that one night of sleep deprivation increases morning blood concentrations of NSE and S-100B in healthy young men. These molecules are typically found in the brain. Thus, their rise in blood after sleep loss may indicate that a lack of snoozing might be conducive to a loss of brain tissue. The findings are published in the journal SLEEP.
The fact that smoking means a considerable health risk is nowadays commonly accepted. New research findings from Uppsala University and Uppsala Clinical Research Center show that smoking alters several genes that can be associated with health problems for smokers, such as increased risk for cancer and diabetes.
Perfluorinated compounds are environmental toxins that are found in fire extinguishing foam and water-repellent textiles and, for example. In a new study, a research team led from Uppsala University has seen links between high levels of perfluorinated compounds in the blood and diabetes.