Erica (Duo Xu) has spearheaded an effort to compile all the small, different methods that we developed for analyzing population genomics data to construct locus-specific phylogenies into a streamlined pipeline. Yousef Jaber, a bright undergrad from our computer science department, end up making a nice GUI for this pipeline. We hope that it would be … Continue reading New Paper: VCF2TREE – A phylogenetic tool
New paper: Of archaic admixture in Africa, cherries, and serendipity
We have a new paper -two years in the making - where we showed evidence for introgression from an African archaic hominin to the ancestors of modern humans. This is a relatively big and, I have to admit, a serendipitous finding, corroborating the emerging notion that an "interbreeding bonanza" has shaped our ancestors. I do … Continue reading New paper: Of archaic admixture in Africa, cherries, and serendipity
A note on evolution and disease
I wanted to write this post to discuss an interesting discussion going on with regards to evolutionary basis of human complex diseases. It stems from our paper that looked into the evolution of skin barrier related gene, called fillagrin (FLG). FLG stood out for four conceivable reasons. See this review for more. (i) It is huge. … Continue reading A note on evolution and disease
New paper: Of light, duplications and UV protection
We have helped Cemali Bekpen and the Max Planck Evolutionary Biology Group of Dr. Tautz in resolving a very complicated and variable gene duplication. Even though, some of the trends remain fuzzy, it is now clear that gene duplications of SPATA31 diversified in humans and remain variable. What is more, some of their function has to do … Continue reading New paper: Of light, duplications and UV protection
New Paper: Lipids and transcripts within the context of cellular senescence
We now published a paper with Atilla Lab describing the systems level analyses of lipidome and transcriptome as the cells age (i.e., as they stop dividing). Our results highlight the multiple roles of different lipid families are playing in this cellular process. The paper got published in Molecular Biosystems - Here is the link (behind a pay-wall unfortunately). … Continue reading New Paper: Lipids and transcripts within the context of cellular senescence
New paper: Evolutionary history of a common psoriasis associated deletion
Following up our earlier insights into "ancient" human deletion polymorphisms that are shared with Neanderthals or Denisovans, we published a paper in BMC Evolutionary Biology, describing a small, but neat example of likely balancing selection acting on a large, common and psoriasis-associated deletion in humans. The haplotype that harbors this deletion show unusually high variation and an … Continue reading New paper: Evolutionary history of a common psoriasis associated deletion
Congratulations Colin for Winning the McCroskey Scholarship!
Congratulations to Colin Flanagan for being awarded the McCroskey Scholarship from the University at Buffalo's Department of Biology! This award is offered to distinguished Undergraduate Biology students involved in research and service, and is a great honor. Nice job Colin! More information on the McCroskey Scholarship can be found here
