The Paramecium germline genome provides a niche for intragenic parasitic DNA: evolutionary dynamics of internal eliminated sequences.

Insertions of parasitic DNA within coding sequences are usually deleterious and are generally counter-selected during evolution. Thanks to nuclear dimorphism, ciliates provide unique models to study the fate of such insertions. Their germline genome undergoes extensive rearrangements during development of a new somatic macronucleus from the germline micronucleus following sexual events.

The mysterious trend in American heights in the 20th century.

Background: The secular trend in the height of the US population has been almost neglected in a comparative perspective, despite its being a useful indicator of early-life biological conditions.

Aim: The study estimated the height of the US population and compared it to Western European trends after World War II.

Subjects And Method: The complete set of NHES and NHANES data were analyzed, collected between 1959 and 2004 by the National Center for Health Statistics, in order to construct trends of the physical stature of US-born men and women limited to non-Hispanic blacks and whites.

Spatial correlates of us heights and body mass indexes, 2002.

Aiming to further explore possible underlying causes of the recent remarkable stagnation and relative decline in American heights, this paper describes the result of analysis of the commercial US Sizing Survey (2002). Heights are correlated positively with income and education among both white males and females while Body Mass Index (BMI) is correlated negatively among females, as in other samples. In contrast to much of the literature, this paper considers geographic correlates of height such as local poverty rate, median income and population density at the zip code level of resolution.

Compaction of rods: relaxation and ordering in vibrated, anisotropic granular material.

We report on experiments to measure the temporal and spatial evolution of packing arrangements of anisotropic, cylindrical granular material, using high-resolution capacitive monitoring. In these experiments, the particle configurations start from an initially disordered, low-packing-fraction state and under vertical vibrations evolve to a dense, highly ordered, nematic state in which the long particle axes align with the vertical tube walls. We find that the orientational ordering process is reflected in a characteristic, steep rise in the local packing fraction.