ABC Science, 12/10/2019 The retrovirus spreading through the koala population is bad news. But studies of the koala infection have led scientists to a surprising discovery: a “second immune system” in the species, according to research published on Saturday in the journal Cell. This system, which the researchers think exists in all mammals, has a role fighting off viruses that are in...
How HIV Possibly Jumped From Monkey To Man
Asian Scientist, April 12, 2018
Scientists in Japan have discovered a protein that may have enabled the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) to be transmitted to humans. Their findings are published in Cell Host & Microbe. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is believed to have evolved from a SIV that originated in chimpanzees.
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How we inherit masculine and feminine behaviours: a new idea about environment and genes
The Conversation, August 18, 2017 3.22pm AEST What if thousands of years of gendered environments actually reduced the need to develop genetic mechanisms to ensure gender differences? This is the idea we suggest in our new paper. Advances in evolutionary biology recognise that offspring don’t just inherit genes. They also reliably inherit all kinds of resources: a particular ecology, a nest...
HIV-Related Virus Has Existed in Primates for Millions of Years
LiveScience, August 27, 2015 03:05pm ET
Viruses related to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have infected Old World monkeys as far back as 16 million years ago, according to a new study. The research provides insight into how monkeys evolved and adapted to the simian version of HIV, and why some viruses can jump from one species to another.
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Access study in PLOS Pathogens here