Latest Uppsala University in Sweden Stories

Just how new species are established is still one of the most central questions in biology. In an article in the leading scientific journal Nature, researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden describe how they mapped the genomes of the European pied flycatcher and the collared flycatcher and found that it is disparate chromosome structures rather than separate adaptations in individual genes that underlies the separation of the species. "We were surprised that such a large part of the...

Some 220 individuals from different regions in southern Africa participated in the research that led to the analysis of around 2.3 million DNA variants per individual – the biggest ever Genetically, culturally and ethically the Khoe-San have something special to add to this world. The importance of this study is to put the Khoe and San heritage in the right place in history and this research will provide a genetic backdrop for future studies - Mattias Jakobsson. The largest genomic...

Translation expert turning insights and computing power on other coded messages The manuscript seems straight out of fiction: a strange handwritten message in abstract symbols and Roman letters meticulously covering 105 yellowing pages, hidden in the depths of an academic archive. Now, more than three centuries after it was devised, the 75,000-character "Copiale Cipher" has finally been broken. The mysterious cryptogram, bound in gold and green brocade paper, reveals the rituals and...

It was not necessary to be literate to be able to access rune carvings in the 11th century. At the same time those who could read were able to glean much more information from a rune stone than merely what was written in runes. This is shown in new research from Uppsala University in Sweden.Rune stones are an important part of the Swedish cultural environment. Many of them are still standing in their original places and still bear witness about the inhabitants of the area from a thousand...

When ribosomes produce protein in all living cells, they do so through a chemical reaction that happens so fast that scientists have been puzzled. Using large quantum mechanical calculations of the reaction center of the ribosome, researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden can now provide the first detailed picture of the reaction. The findings are published in the Web edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS.It was previously known how the chemical reaction goes...

Plasmids, which are DNA molecules capable of independent replication in cells, have played an important role in gene technology. Researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden have now demonstrated that plasmid-based methods, which had been limited to single-cell organisms such as bacteria and yeasts, can be extended to mosses, opening the door to applications of a number of powerful techniques in plant research. The findings have been published in the distinguished journal Proceedings of the...

The indigenous Samis in Sweden's far north, once known for rounding up their reindeer on skis, have apparently traded in their skis for snowmobiles."Everything progresses in this world. We have to hang on and follow the development," Jaavna Allas, a 30-year-old Sami reindeer herder, told AFP."It wouldn't be possible to herd reindeer today on skis. The grazing areas are so few and far between."They have used modern techniques of rounding up reindeer for decades now, but...

A Swedish scientist has reported the finding of a fossilized specimen that may provide new insight into how jawed vertebrates evolved. Martin Brazeau, of the Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology at Uppsala University in Sweden, said the fossil was discovered Herefordshire, UK, in the 1940s and is an estimated 415 million years old.The specimen is the first-known braincase of an Early Devonian acanthodian "“ which is possibly the earliest group of gnathostomes (jawed...

Scientists found that Tasmanian "tigers" may have gone extinct due to inbreeding and are considering resurrecting the Australian marsupials 70 years after they ceased to exist. "Our goal is to learn how to prevent endangered species from going extinct," said Webb Miller of Pennsylvania State University, who helped lead the international study.The researchers used the same method used to study the DNA from extinct woolly mammoths' hair to get a good comparison of the gene sequences...

Swedish researchers have identified a gene linked to increased susceptibility to the placebo effect, the mysterious capacity of some people to benefit from phony treatments with no verifiable therapeutic activity.Until now, these benefits were believed by be based on the power of suggestion."To our knowledge, it's the first time anyone has linked a gene to the placebo effect,"  Tomas Furmark of Uppsala University in Sweden, who led the research, told New Scientist...