A Molecular Investigation of Human Self-Domestication.

The question of whether human beings are like domesticated animals in their behavior has been simultaneously intriguing, hard to define precisely, and seemingly resistant to any kind of scientific test. A recent paper by Zanella et al. reports a molecular-genetic approach to it and provides a provisional 'yes'.

A striking example of developmental bias in an evolutionary process: The "domestication syndrome".

The question of whether "developmental bias" can influence evolution is still controversial, despite much circumstantial evidence and a good theoretical argument. Here, I will argue that the domestication of mammalian species, which took place independently more than two dozen times, provides a particularly convincing example of developmental bias in evolution. The singular finding that underlies this claim is the repeated occurrence in domesticated mammals of a set of distinctive traits, none of which were deliberately selected.

The "domestication syndrome" in mammals: a unified explanation based on neural crest cell behavior and genetics.

Charles Darwin, while trying to devise a general theory of heredity from the observations of animal and plant breeders, discovered that domesticated mammals possess a distinctive and unusual suite of heritable traits not seen in their wild progenitors. Some of these traits also appear in domesticated birds and fish. The origin of Darwin's "domestication syndrome" has remained a conundrum for more than 140 years.

The enemy within: an epigenetic role of retrotransposons in cancer initiation.

This article proposes that cancers can be initiated by retrotransposon (RTN) activation through changes in the transcriptional regulation of nearby genes. I first detail the hypothesis and then discuss the nature of physiological stress(es) in RTN activation; the role of DNA demethylation in the initiation and propagation of new RTN states; the connection between ageing and cancer incidence and the involvement of activated RTNs in the chromosomal aberrations that feature in cancer progression. The hypothesis neither replaces nor invalidates other theories of cancer, in particular the somatic mutation theory, but helps clarify and unify much of the hitherto poorly integrated, complex phenomenology of cancer.

Charles Darwin: genius or plodder?

There is no doubt about the magnitude of Charles Darwin's contributions to science. There has, however, been a long-running debate about how brilliant he was. His kind of intelligence was clearly different from that of the great physicists who are deemed geniuses.

On the development of neural diversity in the brain.

The FEBS meeting titled "Generating neural diversity in the brain" took place on the island of Capri, from October 13-16. This high-level workshop was the 20(th) in a symposium series organized by the IGB (Instituto Genetica et Biophysica) of Naples funded by international agencies including FEBS, EMBO, European commission. The series is unusual in featuring first-rank international scientist speakers for a meeting whose audience consists primarily of students and post-docs.

Genetic networks as transmitting and amplifying devices for natural genetic tinkering.

Genes never act in isolation but only through webs of functional connections called 'genetic networks'. The term 'genetic network', however, embraces a number of conceptually distinct entities. These include metabolic gene networks, protein 'interactomes', transcriptional networks, and the molecularly diverse networks that underlie development.

Between "design" and "bricolage": genetic networks, levels of selection, and adaptive evolution.

The extent to which "developmental constraints" in complex organisms restrict evolutionary directions remains contentious. Yet, other forms of internal constraint, which have received less attention, may also exist. It will be argued here that a set of partial constraints below the level of phenotypes, those involving genes and molecules, influences and channels the set of possible evolutionary trajectories.

Recasting developmental evolution in terms of genetic pathway and network evolution ... and the implications for comparative biology.

The morphological features of complex organisms are the outcomes of developmental processes. Developmental processes, in turn, reflect the genetic networks that underlie them. Differences in morphology must ultimately, therefore, reflect differences in the underlying genetic networks.

The molecular elements that underlie developmental evolution.

Abundant evidence indicates that developmental evolution, the foundation of morphological evolution, is based on changes in gene function. Over the past decade a consensus has developed that transcriptional regulation, acting through enhancer sequences, is the primary level of evolutionarily significant change. Here we propose that other regulatory levels are probably as important as enhancers in developmental evolution.

Deciphering the swordtail's tale: a molecular and evolutionary quest.

The power of sexual selection to influence the evolution of morphological traits was first proposed more than 130 years ago by Darwin. Though long a controversial idea, it has been documented in recent decades for a host of animal species. Yet few of the established sexually selected features have been explored at the level of their genetic or molecular foundations.