No disadvantages to having kids early

When some species are heavily hunted, animal mortality increases and they have fewer offspring in the course of their lives. To compensate for this, animals that are hunted often respond by becoming sexually mature and bearing young earlier than species that are not hunted. In other words, animals being hunted have a “faster” life history.…

DFG establishes interdisciplinary commission for pandemic research

Against the background of the current coronavirus pandemic, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is to establish an interdisciplinary commission for pandemic research. The commission will be made up of 18 members representing all research disciplines, and its task will be to strengthen the knowledge-driven research which is essential to pandemic and epidemic research…

Mutations linked to intellectual disability point to overly active ion channe

Two mutations identified in individuals with developmental and epileptic brain disease can be traced back to the same ion channel. Researchers have now elucidated how both independent mutations affect the channel’s function: by making it overly active and highly sensitive to stimulation. The findings are an important step towards unraveling what causes the patients’ symptoms.…