A DNA sample thought to show prehistoric trade in cereals is most likely from modern wheat, according to new research led by the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology.

Stem cells have two important capabilities: they can develop into a wide range of cell types and simultaneously renew themselves, creating fresh stem cells. Using a model of the blood forming (hematopoietic) system, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now been able to precisely determine, which signaling pathways play an essential role in the self-renewal of blood stem cells. A particularly decisive role in this process is the interactive communication with surrounding tissue cells in the bone marrow.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) are part of an international team led by the University of Bonn, Germany, who have found a link between the origin of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and small mammals. With the emergence of Ebola virus from bats and hantaviruses from rodents, investigators say identifying the other species infected with HAV provides novel insight into the evolution of HAV and how it spread to humans, and highlights the utility of analyzing animal reservoirs for risk assessment of emerging viruses.

Millions of years ago, even before the continents had settled into place, jellyfish were already swimming the oceans with the same pulsing motions we observe today.