Publications by authors named "N Wales"
Article Synopsis
- Indigenous maize varieties from eastern North America have significantly influenced breeding programs, but their origins remain unclear.
- Paleogenomic studies trace maize's journey to this region, indicating multiple migrations from Mexico, especially towards the northern U.S., including a notable path from the Southwest.
- Analysis shows that ancient Ozark maize specimens exhibit a unique wx1 gene linked to starch metabolism, demonstrating how selective pressures shaped maize domestication and connecting these varieties to the Northern Flints, vital for today's commercial maize.
Article Synopsis
- The medieval period in Sicily experienced significant regime changes, transitioning from Byzantine to various Muslim rulers, and finally to Normans and Swabians, influencing local communities.
- A multidisciplinary analysis of 27 individuals from neighboring Muslim and Christian cemeteries in Segesta revealed genetic differences but also signs of continuity in diet and social practices.
- Findings indicate that both Muslim and Christian communities coexisted in the 13th century, even as regime changes led to demographic shifts and the establishment of new social relationships.
Tropical freshwater lakes are well known for their high biodiversity, and particularly the East African Great Lakes are renowned for their adaptive radiation of cichlid fishes. While comparative phylogenetic analyses of extant species flocks have revealed patterns and processes of their diversification, little is known about evolutionary trajectories within lineages, the impacts of environmental drivers, or the scope and nature of now-extinct diversity. Time-structured palaeodata from geologically young fossil records, such as fossil counts and particularly ancient DNA (aDNA) data, would help fill this large knowledge gap.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe present direct evidence of early grape domestication in southern Italy via a multidisciplinary study of pip assemblage from one site, shedding new light on the spread of viticulture in the western Mediterranean during the Bronze Age. This consist of 55 waterlogged pips from Grotta di Pertosa, a Middle Bronze Age settlement in the south of the Italian peninsula. Direct radiocarbon dating of pips was carried out, confirming the chronological consistency of the samples with their archaeological contexts (ca.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Parallel evolution shows how species adapt to different environments through natural selection, but there's still debate about how and when it happens.
- Using paleogenomics, researchers analyzed genomes from ancient bottlenose dolphins to see how closely linked they are to today's coastal populations.
- They discovered that more recent genomes contain genetic variants associated with coastal habitats, revealing a shared genetic history that helped these dolphins adapt quickly to changing environments.