Blue eyed humans have a single common ancestor

New research shows that people with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor. A group of scientists at the University of Copenhagen have found a genetic mutation which took place 6-10,000 years ago and is the cause of the eye color of all blue-eyed humans alive on the planet today. They originally said that all humans had brown eyes, but a genetic mutation affecting the OCA2 gene in our chromosomes resulted in the creation of a "switch," which literally turned off the ability to produce brown eyes. The OCA2 gene codes for the P protein, which is involved in the production of melanin. This switch  limits its action to reducing the production of melanin in the iris which is effectively "diluting" brown eyes to blue.  The mutation of brown eyes to blue represents neither a positive nor a negative mutation. It simply shows that nature is constantly shuffling the human genome, creating a genetic cocktail of human chromosomes and trying out different changes as it does so. 
Original article here
Who is correct? An article arguing with the original article

Sharing Genes With Acorn Worms

Researchers from Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University in Okinawa, Japan, have found that there are 8,716 gene families between acorn worms and a wide range of diverse mammals. Even though us humans do not look anything like a worm besides having something shaped like a head, we share a common ancestor from over 500 million years ago. Many other species including cephalopods still have genes from that common ancestor along with us. The research team, led by Oleg Simakov, sequenced and analyzed genes from gathering two acorn worm species. One species was Ptychodera flava collected in Hawaii, and the other species Saccoglossus kowalevskii collected from the Atlantic Ocean.

Juvenile Ptychodera flava

Acorn worms are part of a lineage called deuterostomes, where they have been around the longest. The research team also found that some deuterostomes have become more complex than them where it becomes harder to see any gene linkage between them and mammals. Some of the genes found in the other deuterostomes that deal with gill development can be connected to the genes that develop the pharynx. In the end, the research team found that we share about 70% of our human genome with the acorn worm, which is about 14,000 genes.

This article was very interesting to read and important for the future research regarding gene linkage with other living things on Earth. You would not think you share as much as 70% of your genes with something as little and different looking as a worm. This research is important to see where we are going and where we came from on Earth. I would love to read future research regarding this topic that deals with other organisms.

Original article

A New Ancestor

Recently, in South Africa, a new human relative fossil was dug up, which suggests a new point of view of the evolution of mankind.  The relative, named Homo naledi, was surprisingly more complete, and intact, than most relatives, suggesting that Homo naledi is mankind's closest ancient relative.  This idea of a whole new path of evolution, doesn't exactly excite all pathologists.

With a whole new species thrown into the mix, it "changes the human story."  The features of this new found species includes, the already discovered, bipedalism, high intelligence and herbivore-ish diets; as well as some new features such as an ape-sized brain, but Homo-like feet and teeth.  For those pathologist who are not in denial, they believe that Homo naledi just aids in proving that the human genome evolved from multiple different Homo species, creating this very diverse world in which we live in today; and that our ancestry is a "tangle of branches" on the phylogenic tree of life.

I found this article highly interesting, especially since my last semester Biology class spoke of phylogeny and how it is all a big guessing game.  Every time a new species, or ancestor, is introduced, there is no single right or wrong answer as to who should be placed where.  However, sometimes when a wrench, like this, is thrown into the mix, we may need to take a step back and do some rearranging.

Finding out the Red Fox's Historical Journey

In the article I read veterinary scientists used genetics to track the evolutionary history of the red fox. This was the first time the Y-chromosome was used in tracking the red fox's history. What they found out from their research was that all red fox's share one common ancestor from the middle east. They also found that they have diverged into two separate species. The North American red foxes and the Eurasian foxes have been reproductively separated for about 500,000 years now, and about 50,000 years ago North American red foxes evolved into their own separate species!

I found this article very interesting. It is amazing to me how one piece of genetic information can lead you to figure out something so complex. Also, the theory of evolution has always been such an interesting topic to me and I love animals so naturally as soon as I saw this article I was enthralled!