Category: Uncategorized

GENETIC INNOVATORS. “The huge population of viruses, combined with their rapid rates of replication and mutation, makes them the world’s leading source of genetic innovation: they constantly “invent” new genes.” https://lnkd.in/gVBURjk View in LinkedIn

RECORD RATE OF HYPERMUTATION, in the HIV-1 virus genome: “an extremely high mutation rate of (4.1 ± 1.7) × 10(-3) per base per cell, the highest reported for any biological entity.” https://lnkd.in/gsDz7Gu View in LinkedIn

“VIRAL MUTATION rates have been estimated by independent genetic and biochemical approaches to be in the range of 10(-3) –10(-5) mutations introduced per nucleotide copied, almost a million-fold higher than standard mutation rates operating on cellular DNA.“ https://lnkd.in/gDaeFeM View in LinkedIn

NOT IN THE WEB OF LIFE. “Viruses are the most abundant biological entities on the planet, yet most classical principles of evolutionary biology and ecology were not developed with viruses in mind.” https://lnkd.in/gPxMKj9 View in LinkedIn

TOTAL BLANK. “The history of evolutionary biology is essentially devoid of considering the consequences of viruses, especially those that persist and colonize.” https://lnkd.in/guhpmyR View in LinkedIn

CHANGING PERSPECTIVES. “First seen as poisons, then as life-forms, then biological chemicals, viruses today are thought of as being in a gray area between living and nonliving.” https://lnkd.in/gVBURjk View in LinkedIn

GENE DOUBLING. “The haploid genome size of diecious Asparagus species has been characterized as being nearly double that of hermaphroditic species.” https://lnkd.in/gKA5C8N View in LinkedIn

Alternative US group honouring Paris climate accord demands 'seat at the table' View in LinkedIn

TWO EVENTS. “Phylogenetic analyses suggest that dioecy evolved once or potentially twice within a single clade in the Asparagus phylogeny, coincident with increases in genome size and repetitive DNA content, as well as a range expansion from southern Africa into northern Africa and Europe.” https://lnkd.in/gKA5C8N View in LinkedIn

Scientists replace skin of 'butterfly child' http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/10/health/skin-replacement-transplant-success/index.html View in LinkedIn