Around 8% of human DNA is made up of genetic sequences acquired from ancient viruses. These sequences, known as human endogenous retroviruses (or Hervs), date back hundreds of thousands to millions of years – with some even predating the emergence of Homo sapiens. Our latest research suggests that some ancient viral DNA sequences in the human genome play a role in susceptibility to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder. Hervs represent the remnants of these infections with ancient retroviruses. Retroviruses are viruses that insert a copy of their genetic material into the DNA of the…
Author: admin
Housing remains one of Australia’s most pressing issues in both state and federal politics. The RBA keeping rates up and high mortgage repayments have left many Australians struggling. For those Australians who don’t own a home, it’s becoming increasingly hard to get into the housing market. The opposition has blamed the high levels of migration for why Australians feel so much housing pain. Peter Dutton has promised to reduce the permanent migration program (which brings in many skilled workers) as part of getting net overseas migration down. He says more than 100,000 homes could be freed up over five years.…
Sign up to IndyEat’s free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releasesGet our food and drink newsletter for freeAs a born and bred Dubliner, Anna Haugh knows a thing or two about how to make soda bread.The chef and restaurateur remembers her aunt Sadie baking it fresh every week during her childhood, measuring the ingredients with her hands – never using scales.If the idea of baking bread by eye fills you with fear, Haugh has “taken my talented aunty’s guesswork out of baking” with a recipe from her new cookbook: “If you follow it, you are sure to…
WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su today released the following statement on news of a final contract agreement between the United Steelworkers and Blue Bird Corp, one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of low- and zero-emission school buses.“Congratulations to the United Steelworkers and Blue Bird on their dedication and perseverance in achieving a first contract. As President Biden and I have said, collective bargaining works. This agreement is proof-positive that when workers and employers sit down at the bargaining table together, they can come to a deal that achieves stability for the employer and better and safer conditions…
Vigilant coexistence Musumeci, the civil protection minister, acknowledged that the state has been slow to act, but claims the government is now preparing to do everything it can to mitigate the risks. Authorities have so far removed 250 people from their homes as they carry out safety checks on buildings. | Alberto Pizzoli/Getty Images “We southerners are a bit detached, a bit fatalistic, we are used to knocking on wood,” he said, saying that those who choose to live there know the risks and must now be responsible. “We only remember [the volcano] when the earth shakes and this is…
When you think of a criminal investigation, you might picture detectives meticulously collecting and analysing evidence found at the scene: weapons, biological fluids, footprints and fingerprints. However, this is just the beginning of an attempt to reconstruct the events and individuals involved in the crime. At the heart of the process lies the “principle of exchange” formulated by the French criminologist Edmond Locard in the early 1900s, which states that “every contact leaves a trace”. The transfer of materials between the parties involved in a crime (the victim, the perpetrator, objects, the environment) forms the basis for reconstructing the events.…
Homeowners will receive more rights, power and protections over their homes under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act which has become law today. The Act will make it easier and cheaper for leaseholders to buy their freehold, increase standard lease extension terms to 990 years for houses and flats, and provide greater transparency over service charges. The Act will also remove barriers for leaseholders to challenge their landlords’ unreasonable charges at Tribunal. It will further ban the sale of new leasehold houses other than in exceptional circumstances, end excessive buildings insurance commissions for freeholders and managing agents, and scrap the…
MR TEK: Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining our call today previewing the Secretary of State’s upcoming travel to Europe. This call will be on the record and is embargoed until its conclusion. Joining us today is Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien. The assistant secretary will open with brief remarks and then we’ll turn it over to your questions. And we’ll try to get to as many questions as time allows and we’ll take questions in groups of two or three for efficiency’s sake. If you want to ask a question, please use the…
The Seychelles archipelago of 115 islands stretches across a vast area of the western Indian Ocean. Each island is fringed by coral reefs. Coral reefs are formed by colonies of invertebrate animals that build hard skeletons and grow in a myriad of forms. These complex tropical reefs support a third of all species in the ocean as well as the livelihoods of millions of people. Dependency on coral reefs for food security and economic stability is particularly acute in small island developing states such as Seychelles, where a high proportion of people live close to reef systems and there isn’t…
The prime minister’s announcement of a snap summer election in the UK caught many people by surprise. But broadcasters and the media regulator have been preparing for some time. Ofcom faces the challenge of monitoring how broadcasters report the campaigns, and whether they are abiding by the UK’s due impartiality laws in doing so. The broadcast news landscape has changed somewhat since the last general election. This is the first time the highly opinionated GB News will be covering the campaign. Its partisan approach includes prominently right-wing journalists and politicians as presenters. Still, the channel has maintained an Ofcom broadcast…