Current Events: A New Take on the Male Y Chromosome

        There is a theory that sooner or later, the male gender will become extinct.  This is because old research has said that the male Y chromosome is genetically decaying, which means that there will no longer be men on this planet in five million years.  However, that was the old research.  In 2005, scientists compared the human Y chromosome with those of chimpanzees, who evolved away from humans six million years ago.  Now, they have also compared human Y chromosomes with those of the rhesus monkey, which have been a separate species from humans for 25 million years.  These studies show that the Y chromosome has only lost one gene in the last 25 million years.  Its genetic decay is very, very slow, if it has not stopped yet.  Men will be on this planet for many more millions of years to come.

Resource:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17127617

Current Events: Global Warming Affects Chipmunk Genes

          According to the University of California Berkeley, global warming is causing chipmunks living in the High Sierra to move up to higher and cooler land.  They were originally found at altitudes of 7,800 feet, but have now moved up by as much as 1,640 feet.  Because of this, they are losing their available habitat and are forced to live in smaller and more isolated groups.  This could lead to genetic diseases caused by interbreeding that would not have been present in the chipmunks' lives before.  In order to figure out exactly how much of an impact this is having on the genetic diversity of alpine chipmunks, scientists compared 146 DNA samples from from of these organisms living today, to 88 samples from past chipmunks.  These experiments resulted in the fact that alpine chipmunks now have a much less rich allele diversity than they did back when the 88 older samples were alive.  At the same time, scientists completed the exact same experiment with lodgepole chipmunks (another species of chipmunk that thrived in lower elevations than alpine chipmunks).  They did not find any radical genetic differences in this species, because they lived lower down, and did not have to migrate to higher altitudes in order to survive Global Warming.  The alpine chipmunks could face becoming threatened or even extinct wildlife if this continues. 

Resource:  http://summitcountyvoice.com/2012/02/20/global-warming-sierra-chipmunks-take-genetic-hit/

Current Events: Possible New Cures

          Scientists may have made new breakthroughs with finding cures for previously incurable illnesses such as cancer and brain injuries.  They are trying to figure out how to develop and create real 3D stem cells that are very similar to those in a regular human body.  Stem cells are types of cells that can morph into other cells.  They have the potential to either stay in the form of stem cells or to change into red blood cells, brain cells, muscle cells, and other kinds of cells with specific purposes.  Stem cells can renew themselves, and the new stem cells also have the same properties as their "parents" where they can change into new cells.  Replicating these kinds of cells can help lead to new cures, and that is exactly what these scientists are trying to do.

Sources:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/rbcc-explores-cures-cancer-brain-100000290.html
http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics1.asp