Nov 29, 2022 06:16 PM
Doppelgangers share similar genetics and behaviors, study discovers
https://bigthink.com/health/look-alike-g...-behavior/
EXCERPTS: A new study by researchers in Spain shows that human “look-alikes” who have similar facial features also tend to share many genetic similarities, and also share certain lifestyle attributes. The research, published in the journal Cell Reports, provides some insight into the molecular genetic mechanisms that contribute to construction of the face. The authors say these findings could eventually be applied to forensics, by enabling predictions of facial structure from DNA.
[...] The researchers extracted DNA from the saliva samples and analyzed it in three different ways: They (1) compared each participant’s genome by mapping more than 4.3 million genetic variants called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs); (2) looked at the participants’ “epigenomes” by comparing over 850,000 DNA modification sites; and (3) used RNA sequencing to compare the participants’ microbiomes.
The analyses revealed that 9 of the 16 very similar pairs shared over 19,200 SNPs in more than 3,700 genes, and that these similarities were not due to any shared ancestry. By contrast, there was very little similarity in their epigenomes and microbiomes. Furthermore, these “ultra look-alikes” also shared physical characteristics such as weight and height, as well as habits and behaviors like smoking and educational level, suggesting that the shared genetic variants influence not only physical appearance but also lifestyle... (MORE - missing details)
Ancient virus revived from Russian permafrost after 48,500 years
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellnes...cle-723643
EXCERPTS: Scientists have managed to unearth the oldest known virus on Earth, having recovered the 48,500-year-old virus from the Russian permafrost, according to a recent study.
The virus itself, called Pandoravirus yedoma, was of the ones that had been revived after lying dormant in the permafrost in Russia's Siberia for thousands of years.
The findings of this study were published in a paper on bioXrv and have not been peer-reviewed, however, they shed light on a possible catastrophe awaiting us, one that humanity can do nothing about.
[...] Pandoraviruses in general are actually so massive that when they were first seen by scientists, they were overlooked because they were considered to be too big to actually be viruses. Rather, people thought they were bacteria.
The fact that they are so large has led some scientists to propose that this may indicate the existence of something entirely different, a new "domain" of microbes and therefore a new branch on the evolutionary tree, though this is not accepted by the wider scientific community.
[...] The Pandoravirus in Russia was preserved under the permafrost, an area of ground where everything, including a host of organic matter, has been perpetually frozen for millions of years. This cold terrain constitutes roughly a quarter of the Earth's Northern hemisphere.
But worsening climate change has seen permafrost slowly begin to roll back, the thawing ice now giving way to everything it had kept hidden.
This is problematic for a couple of reasons. The first is that much of this organic matter that is now exposed will decay and end up releasing carbon dioxide and methane, which are greenhouse gases, therefore making climate change even worse.
But the second reason is that it will also revive untold numbers of ancient prehistoric viruses forgotten by time, now ready to come back to the surface.
[...] It's possible that they won't survive for long, but knowing anything about these viruses is impossible to estimate. But until we know for sure, the danger of ancient diseases becoming a new deadly plague on mankind brought by climate change remains... (MORE - missing details)
https://bigthink.com/health/look-alike-g...-behavior/
EXCERPTS: A new study by researchers in Spain shows that human “look-alikes” who have similar facial features also tend to share many genetic similarities, and also share certain lifestyle attributes. The research, published in the journal Cell Reports, provides some insight into the molecular genetic mechanisms that contribute to construction of the face. The authors say these findings could eventually be applied to forensics, by enabling predictions of facial structure from DNA.
[...] The researchers extracted DNA from the saliva samples and analyzed it in three different ways: They (1) compared each participant’s genome by mapping more than 4.3 million genetic variants called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs); (2) looked at the participants’ “epigenomes” by comparing over 850,000 DNA modification sites; and (3) used RNA sequencing to compare the participants’ microbiomes.
The analyses revealed that 9 of the 16 very similar pairs shared over 19,200 SNPs in more than 3,700 genes, and that these similarities were not due to any shared ancestry. By contrast, there was very little similarity in their epigenomes and microbiomes. Furthermore, these “ultra look-alikes” also shared physical characteristics such as weight and height, as well as habits and behaviors like smoking and educational level, suggesting that the shared genetic variants influence not only physical appearance but also lifestyle... (MORE - missing details)
Ancient virus revived from Russian permafrost after 48,500 years
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellnes...cle-723643
EXCERPTS: Scientists have managed to unearth the oldest known virus on Earth, having recovered the 48,500-year-old virus from the Russian permafrost, according to a recent study.
The virus itself, called Pandoravirus yedoma, was of the ones that had been revived after lying dormant in the permafrost in Russia's Siberia for thousands of years.
The findings of this study were published in a paper on bioXrv and have not been peer-reviewed, however, they shed light on a possible catastrophe awaiting us, one that humanity can do nothing about.
[...] Pandoraviruses in general are actually so massive that when they were first seen by scientists, they were overlooked because they were considered to be too big to actually be viruses. Rather, people thought they were bacteria.
The fact that they are so large has led some scientists to propose that this may indicate the existence of something entirely different, a new "domain" of microbes and therefore a new branch on the evolutionary tree, though this is not accepted by the wider scientific community.
[...] The Pandoravirus in Russia was preserved under the permafrost, an area of ground where everything, including a host of organic matter, has been perpetually frozen for millions of years. This cold terrain constitutes roughly a quarter of the Earth's Northern hemisphere.
But worsening climate change has seen permafrost slowly begin to roll back, the thawing ice now giving way to everything it had kept hidden.
This is problematic for a couple of reasons. The first is that much of this organic matter that is now exposed will decay and end up releasing carbon dioxide and methane, which are greenhouse gases, therefore making climate change even worse.
But the second reason is that it will also revive untold numbers of ancient prehistoric viruses forgotten by time, now ready to come back to the surface.
[...] It's possible that they won't survive for long, but knowing anything about these viruses is impossible to estimate. But until we know for sure, the danger of ancient diseases becoming a new deadly plague on mankind brought by climate change remains... (MORE - missing details)