Our researchers in the media

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) has long served as a model for the evolution of adaptive genetic diversity in wild populations. Pathogen-mediated selection is thought to be a main driver of MHC diversity, but it remains elusive to what degree selection shapes MHC diversity in complex biogeographical scenarios where other evolutionary processes (e.g. genetic drift and introgression) may also be acting. Here we focus on two closely related green lizard species, Lacerta trilineata and L. viridis, to address the evolutionary forces acting on MHC diversity in populations with different biogeographic structure. We characterized MHC class I exon 2 and exon 3, and neutral diversity (microsatellites), to study the relative importance of selection, drift, and introgression in shaping MHC diversity. As expected, positive selection was a significant force shaping the high diversity of MHC genes in both species. Moreover, introgression significantly increased MHC diversity in mainland populations, with a primary direction of gene flow from L. viridis to L. trilineata. Finally, we found significantly fewer MHC alleles in island populations, but maintained MHC sequence and functional diversity, suggesting that positive selection counteracted the effect of drift. Overall, our data support that different evolutionary processes govern MHC diversity in different biogeographical scenarios: positive selection occurs broadly while introgression acts in sympatry and drift when the population sizes decrease.

Science: Genetic study of 15th century samples shows adaptive changes in bacteria that cause relapsing fever [Report]

DNA fra skjeletter fra St. Nikolai-kirkegården avslører farlige bakterier i middelalderens Gamle Oslo.

I begynnelsen var det ikke evolusjon som hjalp øglene å tilpasse fargen etter underlaget. Men det er det nå.

Pattedyr og fugler har større hjerner enn fisk, amfibier og reptiler – og derfor er vi angivelig også mer intelligente. Men hvorfor er det blitt sånn? Nå kan det se ut som om forskere har svar.

EU legger hindringer i veien for forskning på CRISPR og presis redigering av DNA.

First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Journal of Cell Science, helping early-career researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Marita Borg Distefano is the first author on ‘TBC1D5 controls the GTPase cycle of Rab7b’, published in Journal of Cell Science. Marita is a researcher in the labs of Oddmund Bakke and Cinzia Progida at the University of Oslo, Norway, investigating intracellular trafficking, Rab proteins and cell migration.

These little beggars have hung around humans for more than 11,000 years, new Norwegian research suggests. Keywords: Birds

Many bacteria export effector proteins fulfilling their function in membranes of a eukaryotic host. These effector membrane proteins appear to contain signals for two incompatible bacterial secretion pathways in the same protein: a specific export signal, as well as transmembrane segments that one would expect to mediate targeting to the bacterial inner membrane. Here, we show that the transmembrane segments of effector proteins of type III and type IV secretion systems indeed integrate in the membrane as required in the eukaryotic host, but that their hydrophobicity in most instances is just below the threshold required for mediating targeting to the bacterial inner membrane. Furthermore, we show that binding of type III secretion chaperones to both the effector’s chaperone-binding domain and adjacent hydrophobic transmembrane segments also prevents erroneous targeting. These results highlight the evolution of a fine discrimination between targeting pathways that is critical for the virulence of many bacterial pathogens.

Los análisis sugieren que los gorriones comunes y los bactranos divergieron hace unos 11.000 años.

Forskning. Universitetet i Oslo lot noen av deltagerne på Arendalsuka være med forskningsskipet sitt på tokt.

Science House sparrows are everywhere humans are. But despite their suggestive species name, Passer domesticus, they arent officially domesticated. The bold, tiny, gray-and-brown birds are found on every continent except Antarctica, hopping around cities, pecking at leftover food on sidewalks, and sometimes chasing away native bird species. A new study suggests how these ubiquitous avians have adapted to living alongside humans: The evolutionary process of natural selection may have favored genetic changes that altered their skull shape and allowed them to digest starchsimilar to domesticated animals like dogs.

House sparrows are everywhere humans are. But despite their suggestive species name, Passer domesticus, they aren’t officially domesticated.

House sparrows are everywhere humans are. But despite their suggestive species name, Passer domesticus, they aren’t officially domesticated. The bold, tiny, gray-and-brown birds are found on every continent except Antarctica, hopping around cities, pecking at leftover food on sidewalks, and sometimes chasing away native bird species. A new study suggests how these ubiquitous avians have adapted to living alongside humans: The evolutionary process of natural selection may have favored genetic changes that altered their skull shape and allowed them to digest starch—similar to domesticated animals like dogs.

Eukaryotic elongation factor 1 alpha (eEF1A) delivers aminoacyl-tRNA to the ribosome and thereby plays a key role in protein synthesis. Human eEF1A is subject to extensive post-translational methylation, but several of the responsible enzymes remain unknown. Using a wide range of experimental approaches, we here show that human methyltransferase (MTase)-like protein 13 (METTL13) contains two distinct MTase domains targeting the N terminus and Lys55 of eEF1A, respectively. Our biochemical and structural analyses provide detailed mechanistic insights into recognition of the eEF1A N terminus by METTL13. Moreover, through ribosome profiling, we demonstrate that loss of METTL13 function alters translation dynamics and results in changed translation rates of specific codons. In summary, we here unravel the function of a human MTase, showing that it methylates eEF1A and modulates mRNA translation in a codon-specific manner.

Ingvild Gudim * †, Marta Hammerstad †, Marie Lofstad †, and Hans-Petter Hersleth * † ‡ † Department of Biosciences, Section for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway ‡ Department of Chemistry, Section for Chemical Life Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway Biochemistry, Article ASAP DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.8b00674 Publication Date (Web): August 24, 2018 Copyright © 2018 American Chemical Society *E-mail: ingvild.gudim@ibv.uio.no. Tel: +47-22854631., *E-mail: h.p.hersleth@ibv.uio.no. ACS AuthorChoice - This is an open access article published under an ACS AuthorChoice License, which permits copying and redistribution of the article or any adaptations for non-commercial purposes. Cite this: Biochemistry XXXX, XXX, XXX-XXX

Most birds and mammals, including humans, have developed parental care. Can this explain why we have bigger brains, and as a consequence are allegedly more intelligent, than other animal species?

Summer in the Greenland coast circa year 1000 Jens Erik Carl Rasmussen - CC Public Domain

How ambitious researchers use computers to push bacteria beyond their limits.

By CHRISTINA LARSON, Associated Press Published: August 16, 2018, 6:00 AM

Federico Fenaroli †, Urska Repnik †, Yitian Xu ‡, Kerstin Johann §, Simon Van Herck ∥, Pradip Dey ⊥, Frode Miltzov Skjeldal †, Dominik M. Frei †, Shahla Bagherifam #, Agnese Kocere †, Rainer Haag ⊥, Bruno G. De Geest ∥, Matthias Barz §, David G. Russell ‡, and Gareth Griffiths * † † Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Blindernveien 31, 0371 Oslo, Norway ‡ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, C5 109 VMC, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States § Institute for Organic Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Duesbergweg 10-14, 55099 Mainz, Germany ∥ Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutics, Ghent University, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, 9000 Ghent, Belgium ⊥ Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry−Organic Chemistry, Free University of Berlin, Takustrasse 3, 14195 Berlin, Germany # Department of Radiation Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, The Norwegian Radium Hospital, Montebello, N-0310 Oslo, Norway ACS Nano, Article ASAP DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.8b04433 Publication Date (Web): August 6, 2018 Copyright © 2018 American Chemical Society *E-mail: g.w.griffiths@ibv.uio.no. Cite this: ACS Nano XXXX, XXX, XXX-XXX

Muslinger som lever på eller i bunnen er omgitt av milliarder av partikler med organisk materiale på – mat de trenger for å leve. Likevel blir de påvirket av ørsmå biter av plast mellom de andre partiklene.

KOMPAS.com - Viking adalah salah satu suku yang terkenal dengan keberanian dan profesinya sebagai perompak. Namun siapa sangka, suku penjelajah samudra itu ternyata harus mengaku kalah pada walrus, mamalia laut yang hidup di belahan Bumi utara.

Fra to enkeltceller til fullt ferdig menneske. Katharina Vestre, Linnea Vestre (ill.): DET FØRSTE MYSTERIET. Historien om deg - før du ble fodt

Loven i utakt med teknologien: Genredigering kan gjøre drømmer til virkelighet. Men de teknologiske fremskrittene setter dagens lovverk på prøve.

Forskere danner egne bedrifter: I det nye laboratoriet Sharelab på Blindern møtes forskere, bedriftsutviklere og investorer.

Forskere ved UiO har designet en DNA-vaksine som programmerer kroppens egne celler til å mobilisere immunforsvaret.

KOMPAS.com - Viking adalah salah satu suku yang terkenal dengan keberanian dan profesinya sebagai perompak. Namun siapa sangka, suku penjelajah samudra itu ternyata harus mengaku kalah pada walrus, mamalia laut yang hidup di belahan Bumi utara.

The allometric relationship between brain and body size among vertebrates is often considered a manifestation of evolutionary constraints. However, birds and mammals have undergone remarkable encephalization, in which brain size has increased without corresponding changes in body size. Here, we explore the hypothesis that a reduction of phenotypic integration between brain and body size has facilitated encephalization in birds and mammals. Using a large dataset comprising 20,213 specimens across 4,587 species of jawed vertebrates, we show that the among-species (evolutionary) brain–body allometries are remarkably constant, both across vertebrate classes and across taxonomic levels. Birds and mammals, however, are exceptional in that their within-species (static) allometries are shallower and more variable than in other vertebrates. These patterns are consistent with the idea that birds and mammals have reduced allometric constraints that are otherwise ubiquitous across jawed vertebrates. Further exploration of ontogenetic allometries in selected taxa of birds, fishes and mammals reveals that birds and mammals have extended the period of fetal brain growth compared to fishes. Based on these findings, we propose that avian and mammalian encephalization has been contingent on increased variability in brain growth patterns.

The collapse in the walrus tusk trade triggered an economic crisis for early Viking colonists in Greenland that led to the downfall of its settlements and churches, according to new research.

I marinai norreni furono probabilmente i primi europei a sbarcare in quello che qualche secolo dopo sarebbe diventato il Continente americano [13 agosto 2018]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Clues to the mystery of why Viking colonies in Greenland flourished and fell have been found in the DNA of medieval walrus bones housed in more than a dozen European museums.

Mostakim SK †, Soutick Nandi †, Rakesh Kumar Singh ‡, Vishal Trivedi ‡, and Shyam Biswas * † † Department of Chemistry and ‡ Malaria Research Group, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati 781039, Assam, India Inorg. Chem., Article ASAP DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.8b01310 Publication Date (Web): August 9, 2018 Copyright © 2018 American Chemical Society *Phone: 91-3612583309. Fax: 91-3612582349. E-mail: sbiswas@iitg.ernet.in. Cite this: Inorg. Chem. XXXX, XXX, XXX-XXX Synopsis Boronic acid functionalized Hf-based UiO-66 metal−organic framework was synthesized under solvothermal conditions. It could detect the peroxynitrite (ONOO − ) rapidly in 10 mM HEPES buffer at pH 7.4 with high selectivity. It displayed an extraordinary detection limit (9.0 nM). The probe was also employed for the bioimaging of ONOO − in living cells.

Abstract Image The first boronic acid functionalized Hf-based UiO-66 (UiO = University of Oslo) metal–organic framework (MOF) having the ability to detect both extracellular and intracellular peroxynitrite is presented. The Hf-UiO-66-B(OH) 2material ( 1 ) was synthesized under solvothermal conditions from a mixture of HfCl 4and 2-borono-1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid [H 2BDC–B(OH) 2] ligand in DMF in the presence of formic acid (modulator) at 130 °C for 48 h. The desolvated material ( 1′ ) was utilized as a fluorescent turn-on probe for the rapid sensing of extracellular peroxynitrite (ONOO – ) under conditions mimicking those of biological medium (10 mM HEPES buffer, pH 7.4). Selective sensing of ONOO – over other ROS/RNS was also achieved by 1′. The oxidative cleavage of attached boronic acid groups forming corresponding hydroxy-functionalized ligands can be accounted for the fluorescent increment phenomenon in the presence of ONOO –. The probe showed extraordinary sensitivity (detection limit = 9.0 nM) toward ONOO – in 10 mM HEPES buffer at pH 7.4. Probe-loaded cells did not exhibit cytotoxicity and morphological deformities. It is remarkable that the probe inside the cells responded toward the peroxynitrite solution to give an intense blue fluorescent signal. The fluorescence microscopy study with J774A.1 macrophage cells unambiguously demonstrated that probe 1′ is suitable to image peroxynitrite in living cells.

For years, archaeologists have wondered why the Norse settled on Greenland's inhospitable, ice-bound edges at the end of the first millennium A.D. The living certainly wasn't easy-so why did they stay, and how did they survive?

Clues to the mystery of why Viking colonies in Greenland flourished and fell have been found in the DNA of medieval walrus bones housed in more than a dozen European museums.

© Christian Koch Madsen via Associated Press This 2009 photo provided by Christian Koch Madsen shows the ruins of the Hvalsey Church, part of an abandoned Viking colony, in southern Greenland.

Collapsing ivory market, not climate change, may have doomed Greenland settlements

Clues to the mystery of why Viking colonies in Greenland flourished and fell have been found in the DNA of medieval walrus bones housed in more than a dozen European museums.

The Icelandic Sagas tell of Erik the Red: exiled for murder in the late 10th century he fled to southwest Greenland, establishing its first Norse settlement.

A new study reveals how the Norse eked out a good life on the icy island by cornering the market in this exotic wildlife product.

The Icelandic Sagas tell of Erik the Red: exiled for murder in the late 10th century he fled to southwest Greenland, establishing its first Norse settlement.

Caster Semenya of South Africa celebrates winning the 800m final at the Commonwealth Games.

This is an example of an elaborately-carved ecclesiastical walrus ivory plaque from the beginning of the medieval walrus ivory trade, featuring the figure of Christ, together with St Mary and St Peter, and believed to date from the 10th or 11th century. Found in North Elmham, Norfolk, UK, in the 19th century, and currently exhibited in the University of Cambridge s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

An ‘overreliance on a single commodity’ may have led to the downfall of Erik the Red’s Greenland colony

New DNA analysis reveals that, before their mysterious disappearance, the Norse colonies of Greenland had a 'near monopoly'on Europe's walrus ivory supply. An overreliance on this trade may have contributed to Norse Greenland's collapse when the medieval market declined.

Collapsing ivory market, not climate change, may have doomed Greenland settlements

This 2009 photo provided by Christian Koch Madsen shows the ruins of the Hvalsey Church, part of an abandoned Viking colony, in southern Greenland. For almost five hundred years, the Norse descendants of Erik the Red built churches and manor homes and expanded their settlements on the icy fringes of European civilization.

Author: Associated Press Published: 7:45 AM EDT August 8, 2018 Updated: 7:55 AM EDT August 8, 2018