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VAST ECOSYSTEMS. “Recent studies of infectious agents have clearly demonstrated that Koch and Hill's fundamental postulates of “one microbe—one disease” has shown its limits. Indeed, it is now established that many pathogens live and interact with other micro-organisms (not only bacteria, but also protists, fungi, viruses, or phages) in vast communities, all generating and participating in complex interactions that may influence or drive disease processes.” https://lnkd.in/gEfVGaC View in LinkedIn

NEW THINKING. “The concept of pathogenesis has evolved considerably over recent years, and the scenario “a microbe + virulence factors = disease” is probably far from reality in a number of cases.” https://lnkd.in/gEfVGaC View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE meditates on the significant shift from the concept of pathogen to that of the pathobiome. This is not just a conceptual issue, but has many practical implications. It is in line with a change in thinking from the “war on germs” to the idea that we are composed of an interacting community of microbes, the microbiome, and that health is related to the balance of the helpful microbes versus the pathological microbes, rather than an antibiotic-fueled scorched-earth policy that kills all of these players. View in LinkedIn

Astronomers find half of the missing matter in the universe https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/oct/12/astronomers-find-half-of-the-missing-matter-in-the-universe?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other View in LinkedIn

REPETITIVE DNA. "Given that the stickleback and papaya male-specific regions have accumulated repetitive DNA, they may have been isolated from recombination with X-linked homologues for quite long times. Divergence data for synonymous sites within coding sequences should help to estimate the time scales." http://www.nature.com/hdy/journal/v95/n2/full/6800697a.html View in LinkedIn

YOUNG SEX CHROMOSOMES. "In recently evolved sex chromosomes, degeneration is probably much slower than in neo-Y chromosomes. There is less opportunity for selection to cause reduced effective population sizes of Y- or W-specific genes, since only loci within the sex-specific region are probably relevant." http://www.nature.com/hdy/journal/v95/n2/full/6800697a.html View in LinkedIn

David Attenborough urges action on plastics after filming Blue Planet II https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/15/david-attenborough-urges-immediate-action-on-plastics-blue-planet?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other View in LinkedIn

SEX BIAS. "If a sexually antagonistic mutation arises in the population on the recombining, nondifferentiated part of a protosex chromosome, selection for increased linkage of the sexually antagonistic allele to the sex determination locus can cause this mutation to be transmitted more often through the sex it benefits." http://www.pnas.org/content/110/16/6453.full View in LinkedIn

GENETIC SEX WAR. "The evolutionary fuel driving the loss of recombination between nascent sex chromosomes is provided by sexually antagonistic mutations, that is, mutations that benefit one sex but are harmful to the other." Mull on that one. http://www.pnas.org/content/110/16/6453.full View in LinkedIn

THE VAST UNKNOWN. "Recombination suppression and differentiation are generally viewed as the default path of sex chromosome evolution, and the occurrence of old, homomorphic sex chromosomes, such as those of ratite birds, has remained a mystery." https://lnkd.in/g9djQYs View in LinkedIn