Rapa Nui people did not destroy their island
Why DNA damage is a risk for early menopause, but cancer is more impactful than genetic variants that are present in both copies of a woman’s DNA
Goriely says that infertility is a catastrophe for women who suffer from it. We need to do something for these women.
In the Nature Genetics study, Stefánsson and his colleagues looked for genetic variants that are linked to early menopause, focusing on variants that had that effect only if they were present in both copies of a woman’s DNA. The link between age and CCDC201 is known because it is active only in immature egg cells.
Mutations can also increase cancer risk, and variants in four of the genes that the team uncovered were linked not only to early menopause but also to a higher risk of cancer.
The finding supports the idea that DNA damage is related to ovarian ageing, says Murray. But when the team tried to repeat their experiment using a different biobank, the results were not statistically significant.
Genomic analysis reveals a host of genetic variants that affect how quickly fertility ends, among them one that reduces reproductive span by six years.
“They are rare, but typically they are impactful,” says Anne Goriely, a geneticist at the University of Oxford, UK, who was not an author of the papers. These rare disorders often lead to new treatments and conceptual advances.
No, Rapa Nui People Didn’t Destroy Their Island (A Nature Infographic from Kamala Harris and Donald Trump)
One factor that could trigger that early menopause is the accumulation of DNA mutations in a person’s eggs. It is possible that these alterations can cause the eggs to self-destruct. The eggs’ response to DNA damage is key in determining egg number, says Murray. Your reproductive lifespan is determined by your egg number.
A Rapa Nui theory has been found to be false. Plus, what Harris and Trump said about science in their debate and the reviewers churning out suspicious reviews for personal gain.
The Rapa Nui people have largely the same genetics as other Pacific islanders, but around 10% of their genetic material can be traced to their ancestors in coastal areas of South America. Europeans first traveled to the island hundreds of years ago, and the findings suggest that people from these regions did not become friends until hundreds of years later. The Nature paywall has an Infographic from the Nature News & Views article.
On Tuesday, US presidential hopefuls Kamala Harris and Donald Trump stepped up to the debate podiums. Science issues took a back seat to the economy, immigration and national security, but candidates exchanged views on abortion and women’s health, the country’s relationship with China and the climate. Nature analyses what the candidates did and did not say about science, and hears what researchers think about the candidates’ stances.
Source: Daily briefing: No, Rapa Nui people didn’t destroy their island
Do South Asians Live in the Real World? A Genetic Perspective on the Study of Negative and Positive Review Processes in the 21st Century
An analysis of peer reviews published by some journals alongside their papers has highlighted a scheme that might allow reviewers to benefit from duplicated or generic reviews. The analysis identified 263 suspicious reviews published by 37 journals between 2021 and 2024. Maria ngeles Oviedo- Garca suspects that reviewers are using templates in order to quickly write up reviews that boost their own professional standing or that they receive credit for future publishing fees. “Some other researchers will probably base their future research on those fake-reviewed papers, and it’s scary,” she says.
Some physicians call it the ‘South Asian paradox’: heart disease is common for people of South Asian ancestry, despite fewer of the usual risk factors, such as smoking. In every South Asian group, we cannot explain the risk, says epidemiologist Mohammed Ali. But genetic data that could shed light on the root cause is scarce. Critics worry that the focus on genetics and genomics oversimplifications the issue, and that projects meant to dig into genetic evidence are underway. Nishi Chaturvedi supports doing more analysis of genetic risk factors. It is being done to look at the whole-of-life factors of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Source: Daily briefing: No, Rapa Nui people didn’t destroy their island
A re-imagination of the impact of a wildfire in Jasper, Canada, made history with a privately funded excursion outside a spacecraft
There are gaps in the data relevant to theSDGs. One reason why only a small amount of the goals of theSDG are achieved by the end of the decade is because of this. Citizens can gather data to help. The framework won’t be easy to implement, but it can help to accelerate the implementation and uphold the leave no one behind principle.
A wildfire raged through the Jasper National Park in Canada in July, destroying a lot of the town of Jasper. The damage could have been worse, says a group of forest scientists and an Indigenous fire-stewardship leader. “Proactive fuel mitigation in the forests surrounding Jasper has meant that firefighters were able to save around 70% of the town’s infrastructure,” they write. To respond to the ever-increasing fires in Canada, the researchers recommend combining technology with Indigenous-led stewardship.
Engineer Sarah Gillis (along with entrepreneur Jared Isaacman) made history today by making the first privately funded excursion outside a spacecraft. They removed their bodies from the hatch of the dragon at a top altitude of more than 700 kilometres. Polaris Dawn is the second space outing funded by Isaacman and there could be two more. 6 min read.
A study has suggested that DNA damage is responsible for early menopause. The team, led by University of Iceland’s Anders Stefnsson, found that four of the genes they identified were linked to cancer as well as to a higher risk of cancer. Mutations in DNA can lead to cancer and ovarian ageing is related to DNA damage in a person’s eggs.