Published in eLife
March Mammal Madness is a science outreach project that, over the course of several weeks in March, reaches hundreds of thousands of people in the United States every year. We combine four approaches to science outreach - gamification, social media platforms, community event(s), and creative products - to run a simulated tournament in which 64 anim...
Published in eLife
Drosophila reproductive behaviors are directed by fruitless neurons. A reanalysis of genomic studies shows that genes encoding dpr and DIP Immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) members are expressed in fru P1 neurons. We find that each fru P1 and dpr/DIP (fru P1 ∩ dpr/DIP) overlapping expression pattern is similar in both sexes, but there are dimorphis...
In a context of ongoing biodiversity erosion, obtaining genomic resources from wildlife is essential for conservation. The thousands of yearly mammalian roadkill provide a useful source material for genomic surveys. To illustrate the potential of this underexploited resource, we used roadkill samples to study the genomic diversity of the bat-eared ...
Published in Cell
Differences in innate immune system function may underpin the curiously variable disease spectrum of COVID-19.
Published in Frontiers in Medicine
Behçet's disease is a chronic multisystemic inflammatory disorder characterized by recurrent oral and genital ulcers. Although its etiology remains unclear, it is thought that both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the onset and progression of Behçet's disease. Here, we provide an updated view of the genetic landscape and architecture...
Published in The Application of Clinical Genetics
Deletions within the male-specific region of the Y-chromosome, known as Y-Chromosome Microdeletions (YCMs), are present in as many as 5% and 10% of severe oligospermic and azoospermic men, respectively. These microdeletions are distinguished by which segment of the Y chromosome is absent, identified as AZFa (the most proximal segment), AZFb (middle...
Published in Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
Aging is the greatest risk factor for a multitude of diseases including cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration and cancer. Despite decades of research dedicated to understanding aging, the mechanisms underlying the aging process remain incompletely understood. The widely-accepted free radical theory of aging (FRTA) proposes that the accumulation...
