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Science & Publishing
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Science & Publishing
Stressed-out worms hit the snooze button
When you catch a nasty cold, curling up in bed to sleep may be the only activity you can manage. Sleeping in response to stress isn’t a uniquely human behavior: many other animals have the same reaction, and it’s not clear why. While the circadian sleep that follows the pattern of the clock has been…
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Science & Publishing
November GENETICS Highlights
Check out the November issue of GENETICS by looking at the highlights or the full table of contents! ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS Ethanol stimulates locomotion via a Gas-signalling pathway in IL2 neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans, pp. 1023–1039 James R. Johnson, Mark R. Edwards, Huw Davies, Daniel Newman, Whitney Holden, Rosalind E. Jenkins, Robert D. Burgoyne, Robert J. Lucas, and Jeff W. Barclay Alcohol…
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Science & Publishing
Behind the Cover: Genetic ancestry in Colombia
Over three centuries, as many as a million enslaved people were shipped to the Colombian port of Cartagena. From this hub of the slave trade, European colonists took Africans to labor in many places across the Americas, including the gold mines of the Chocó region. Today, people from Chocó often proudly identify as Afro-Colombian, while…
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Science & Publishing
Transcription may be mutagenic in germline but not somatic tissues
When a mutation arises in an egg or sperm cell, it could be evolutionarily important. But if a mutation occurs in somatic tissue instead, the result could be cancer. Mutations in the germline and soma not only have contrasting consequences, they also arise at different rates that may reflect the balance of DNA damage and…
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Science & Publishing
New in G3: Colombian ancestry, butterfly chromosomes, and mouse reference maps
Check out the October issue of G3! Table of Contents Meeting Report Meeting Report on Experimental Approaches to Evolution and Ecology Using Yeast and Other Model Systems Daniel F. Jarosz, Aimée M. Dudley G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics October 2017 7: 3237-3241; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1534/g3.117.300124 Genome Report High-Quality de Novo Genome Assembly of the Dekkera bruxellensis Yeast Using Nanopore MinION…
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Science & Publishing
October GENETICS Highlights
Check out the October issue of GENETICS by looking at the highlights or the full table of contents! ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS Rhythmic behavior is controlled by the SRm160 splicing factor in Drosophila melanogaster, pp. 593–607 Esteban J. Beckwith, Carlos E. Hernando, Sofía Polcowñuk, Agustina P. Bertolin, Estefania Mancini, M. Fernanda Ceriani, and Marcelo J. Yanovsky Animals have evolved neural circuits that allow…
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Science & Publishing
Why do so many Nobel Prizes go to scientists working on fruit flies?
As night fell, astronomer Jean Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan watched a plant’s leaves, symmetrically arranged side-by-side on a stem, clamp shut. It was 1729, and he was studying the dramatic nocturnal movement of Mimosa pudica. Strangely, he found that the plant behaved the same way even when it wasn’t exposed to natural cycles of light…
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Science & Publishing
Clues to the innate drug resistance of a cocoa-fermenting pathogen
At first glance, the yeast Candida krusei seems as innocuous as microbes come: it’s used for fermenting cocoa beans and gives chocolate its pleasant aroma. But it’s increasingly being found as a pathogen in immunocompromised patients—and C. krusei infections aren’t always easy to cure. This yeast is naturally resistant to fluconazole, a first-line antifungal that’s…
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Science & Publishing
An extra chromosome that does double duty
Inheriting an extra chromosome can sometimes be disastrous, but in the September issue of G3, Linder et al. investigate a chromosome duplication that helps yeast survive harsh conditions. Yeast with an extra copy of chromosome IV better tolerate hydrogen peroxide exposure, largely thanks to an extra copy of a gene that detoxifies the chemical. This…
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Science & Publishing
Behind the cover: orchid bee genome
A green, iridescent bee perches on a pink flower, extending its proboscis to reach the sweet nectar inside. He’s not just after a meal—he’s also collecting fragrant substances to store inside his hollow rear legs. Later, he’ll buzz his wings to release the aroma with the hope of attracting a mate. The cover of the…
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Science & Publishing
Missing kidney mutation found
It’s surprisingly common for babies to be born missing one or both kidneys; an estimated one in one thousand babies are born with a single kidney. Called renal agenesis, this condition is fatal if both kidneys are missing, and having just one can also lead to serious health problems like hypertension and early renal failure.…