Monthly Archives: January 2020

The wide distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets — over the past two decades, across malaria-endemic regions — has markely decreased the incidence of malaria, saving probably millions of lives. Recently, however, malaria-carrying mosquitoes have now been found to have developed … Continue reading →

From time-to-time, these GEITP pages have discussed topics of developmental biology (such as this paper) — because there are many similarities to evolution (and both involve gene-environment interactions). Early mammalian developmental stages include: [a] Zygotic stage (zygote is formed when … Continue reading →

25 January 2020: HAPPY NEW YEAR OF THE RAT (or mouse, … or rodent) — These GEITP pages think that the MOUSE is much cuter than the RAT. 😊 Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Mammalia Order Rodentia Family Muridae Genus … Continue reading →

This news article — published this week in BBC.com — is an example of the gene-environment interactions theme of these GEITP pages. In this case, the environmental signal is “stress”, and the genes that respond to this signal include a … Continue reading →

In keeping with these GEITP pages sometimes discussing fraud and corruption in science — the attached article by Jane M. Orient, MD (who practices internal medicine in Tucson AZ, and serves as executive director of Assn Am Physicians & Surgeons … Continue reading →

Mutagenesis (process that enhances the number of DNA mutations) can drive carcinogenesis (initiation of cancer formation) and continue during cancer progression — generating intra-tumor genetic heterogeneity that enables cancer cells to adapt, via Darwinian evolution. Analyses (e.g. mutational signature characterization) … Continue reading →

Geological studies of ancient Earth have indicated that, when the planet began 4.54 billion years ago (BYA), it was basically anaerobic (i.e. very low levels of atmospheric O2). Then, the Great Oxidation Event (GOE) occurred between ~2.5 and 2.0 BYA, … Continue reading →

These GEITP pages almost always share items that have the theme of gene-environment interactions. THIS article is a bit of a stretch to encompass that theme (but bioethical issues are considered near the end). However, this story is so intriguing … Continue reading →

Eusocial insects (showing an advanced level of social organization, in which a single female produces offspring, and nonreproductive individuals cooperate in caring for the young) are among the most successful taxa (taxonomic group such as a species, family, or class) … Continue reading →

Antimicrobial resistance clearly fits our theme (gene-environment interactions) in these GEITP pages. The environmental signal (to the bacterium) is a drug that threatens its survival; genes in the genome (along with epigenetic effects) respond to this threat by inducing a … Continue reading →