• Our analysis highlights a recent whole genome duplication (WGD) event as the primary driver of genomic rearrangement and fusion following speciation. (authorea.com)
  • Within the two genomic regions, 60-188 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified that can be used in future studies to investigate the contributions of the three founding genomes in other cultivars. (botany.one)
  • 2020 ) have analyzed whole-genome sequencing data of birds for studying the genomic features across a phylogeny without reference genomes albeit they had to use reference genomes from phylogenetically related species. (nature.com)
  • The accessibility of almost complete genome sequences of uncultivable microbial species from metagenomes necessitates computational methods predicting microbial phenotypes solely based on genomic data. (biomedcentral.com)
  • We study statistical estimators of the number of genomic events separating two genomes under a Double Cut-and Join (DCJ) rearrangement model, by a method of moment estimation. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Study of millions of people from diverse ancestral groups substantially improves identification of genomic variants associated with blood lipid levels. (genome.gov)
  • van der Valk T, Díez-Del-Molino D, Marques-Bonet T, Guschanski K, Dalén L. Historical genomes reveal the genomic consequences of recent population decline. (upf.edu)
  • Using this process to interrogate an individual's entire genome, the proportion of an individual's genomic inheritance from specific ancestral populations can be estimated. (bps.ac.uk)
  • In characterizing this variation, the genomic fraction common to all individuals within a species has been termed the "core" genome and the variable fraction the "dispensable" genome. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Initial efforts to dissect the genetic architecture of traits (e.g., quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping and genome-wide association studies (GWAS)) and genomic prediction efforts have relied primarily on SNP markers. (biomedcentral.com)
  • ANO7 African-ancestral genomic diversity and advanced prostate cancer. (cdc.gov)
  • Negative-sense RNA viruses possess a single-stranded negative-sense genome that first must synthesize a complementary positive-sense antigenome, which is then used to make genomic negative-sense RNA. (msdmanuals.com)
  • We have successfully created a chromosome-level genome assembly of S. rosmarinus , covering 1.24 Gb, with a scaffold N50 value of 107.45 Mb and 61,717 annotated protein-coding genes. (authorea.com)
  • By comparing the similarities and differences between kiss1 and kiss2 of neuronal localization and sensitivity to gonadal steroids in various tetrapods and teleosts, we discuss the evolution of kisspeptin neuronal systems after gene duplication of ancestral kisspeptin genes to give rise to kiss1 and kiss2 . (frontiersin.org)
  • On the other hand, it has been generally accepted in evolutionary biology that genes duplicated from a single gene in the ancestral vertebrate undergo sub-functionalization, neo-functionalization, or non-functionalization ( Ohno, 1970 ). (frontiersin.org)
  • Our findings are exciting because as well as shining a light on sturgeon and paddlefish genome evolution, they provide a comparative snapshot of how our early vertebrate ancestors genome and duplicated genes evolved after these doubling events. (sciencedaily.com)
  • With the availability of a dense genome-wide map of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), a central issue in human genetics is whether it is now possible to use linkage disequilibrium (LD) to map genes that cause disease. (nih.gov)
  • It is highly unlikely that functional copies of a large number of vision genes were lost from the ancestral snake but subsequently re-evolved in most living snakes. (eurekalert.org)
  • Within species, genomes vary in both gene content (e.g., tandem duplicated genes, CNVs dispersed throughout the genome, and PAVs of genes) and repetitive portions of the genome (e.g., transposable elements, knob repeats, centromere repeats). (biomedcentral.com)
  • In addition, these findings provide further support for models in which conflicts between different genes in genomes can drive the process of speciation. (elifesciences.org)
  • Here, we use a computational approach to perform genome-wide identification and analysis of 611 orthologues of the Arabidopsis thaliana flowering genes. (springer.com)
  • Conservation of the genes belonging to the photoperiod, gibberellin and autonomous pathways was observed, while orthologues of the key genes found in the vernalisation pathway (FRI, FLC) were absent from the quinoa genome. (springer.com)
  • These increases to envelope genes and full genomes by using Bayesian refl ect the expanding habitat of the Aedes spp. (cdc.gov)
  • Dr. White and her colleagues analyzed the genomes of 1,441 children with asthma from the Study of African Americans, Asthma, Genes & Environments (SAGE II) and the Genes-Environments & Admixture in Latino Americans (GALA II) studies. (medscape.com)
  • A genome-wide study in a northern European population replicated the association of SLE with susceptibility genes related to B-cell receptor pathway signaling, as well as confirmed the association of SLE with genes at the interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5)-TNPO3 locus. (medscape.com)
  • Nicolas Pompidor, PhD student, and Dr Angélique D'Hont from CIRAD and colleagues from University of California, Berkeley and University of Illinois analysed hundreds of sequences of sugarcanes and found that the genus originates from three founding genomes . (botany.one)
  • The researchers additionally collocated 95 whole genome sequences and 304 targeted sequences to capture the genetic diversity of Saccharum (S. officinarum, S. robustum, S. spontaneum, S. barberi, S. edule) and related species. (botany.one)
  • Full genome cholera sequences from an isolate sampled on September 30, 2022 ( 13 ), and 16 additional isolates collected from Centre, Grand-Anse, and Ouest Departments during September 30-October 31, 2022 ( 14 ), showed that the 2022 strains were homogeneous and closely related to the clinical and environmental strains circulating in Haiti since 2010. (cdc.gov)
  • Here, we first identify the population structure of the Indian tiger using whole-genome sequences and then develop an AIMs panel with a minimum number of SNPs that can recapitulate this structure. (nature.com)
  • Our study can be used as a guideline for developing an AIMs panel for the management of other endangered species where obtaining whole genome sequences are difficult. (nature.com)
  • Most models of genome evolution concern either genetic sequences, gene content or gene order. (biomedcentral.com)
  • All human alpha satellite sequences originate from one pra-ancestral alpha satellite monomer. (srce.hr)
  • The sequencing of the human genome revealed that at least 1% of the human genome consists of endogenous retroviral sequences, representing past encounters with retroviruses during the course of human evolution. (msdmanuals.com)
  • Silver Age of GOLD Introduces New Features The Genomes OnLine Database makes curated microbiome metadata that follows community standards freely available and enables large-scale comparative genomics analysis initiatives. (doe.gov)
  • The problem of reconstructing ancestral genomes in a given phylogenetic tree arises in many different comparative genomics fields. (biomedcentral.com)
  • The study of structural variation within species and the characterization of the pan-genome has revealed extensive genome content variation among individuals within a species that is paradigm shifting to crop genomics and improvement. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Here, we review advances in crop genomics and how utilization of these tools is shifting in light of pan-genomes that are becoming available for many crop species. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Our way of thinking about crop genomics is changing as we gain a deeper understanding of the structural variation within the pan-genome. (biomedcentral.com)
  • In fact, the very first individual genome sequenced, belonging to acclaimed genomics pioneer Craig Venter, was completed in 2007 at a cost of $2.7 billion . (cdc.gov)
  • These tests evaluate large numbers of individual variations (single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs) across a person's entire genome. (medlineplus.gov)
  • These genome-wide studies of up to 1 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have identified about 50 genetic associations for SLE,[6, 7] and replication studies have confirmed these findings, in nonwhite as well as white cohorts. (medscape.com)
  • For this research, published in Genome Biology and Evolution , scientists generated new gene-sequence data for the dark-spined blind snake ( Anilios bicolor ) and the prong-snouted blind snake ( Anilios bituberculatus ), both of which are common across southern Australia. (eurekalert.org)
  • They have completed a draft sequence for approximately 60% of the Neandertal genome. (creation.com)
  • Complete genome sequence of an Israeli isolate of Xanthomonas hortorum pv. (tau.ac.il)
  • 2003 ). In 2017, the first chromosome-scale reference genome sequence of quinoa was published, and it has provided the much-needed resource for plant biologists to design molecular breeding and crop improvement programs for quinoa (Jarvis et al. (springer.com)
  • The genome sequence of quinoa serves as an entry point for deciphering the complex molecular pathways that contribute to floral evocation. (springer.com)
  • The sequence in Han Chinese populations had an evolutionarily new variation, perhaps reflecting that premature birth would have been especially costly for the small group of ancestral humans who migrated from Africa to East Asia. (stanford.edu)
  • So we have been able to obtain sequence data from viruses, and rabies virus specifically, for quite some time now but only recently has it become technically feasible to sequence entire genomes, or at least for large numbers of samples we can do that now. (cdc.gov)
  • So it is not surprising that in a time of the "Me Me Me Generation " that there might be interest in possessing the ultimate description of "me"- the literal sequence of one's own genome that can be carried in hand. (cdc.gov)
  • Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health described the human genome sequence as "… our own instruction book previously only known to God. (cdc.gov)
  • Classification of viruses is principally according to their genome sequence taking into consideration nature and structure of their genome and their method of replication, but not according to the diseases they cause (see International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), 2021 release ). (msdmanuals.com)
  • Positive-sense RNA viruses possess a single-stranded RNA genome that can serve as messenger RNA (mRNA) that can be directly translated to produce an amino acid sequence. (msdmanuals.com)
  • Below are the two most important figures from the paper: a) the three-way mixture model that is a statistical fit to the data, and b) a plot of the proportions of ancestry from each of the three inferred ancestral populations. (blogspot.com)
  • An individual with a relatively small proportion of African ancestry may not self-identify as "Black" or "African American", yet they may have African ancestry at a specific region of the genome where that ancestry may confer risk, for instance, by carrying a pharmacogenomic risk allele that is more prevalent among those with African ancestry. (bps.ac.uk)
  • In contrast, modern populations with European and African ancestry had a greater mixture reflecting new and ancestral versions in the gene. (stanford.edu)
  • The National Human Genome Research Institute discusses human origins and ancestry . (medlineplus.gov)
  • On the other hand, admixture mapping, which is performed in case of populations consisting of a recent mix of two ancestral groups, relies on the ancestry information at each locus (locus-specific ancestry). (lu.se)
  • Individuals of African ancestry represent only about 3% of everyone included in genome-wide association studies worldwide, he noted. (medscape.com)
  • Moreover, many people view the genome as a means to better understand one's ancestral past and as a window to their biological future. (cdc.gov)
  • NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) - Archeological samples of human feces dating back more than a thousand years indicate that ancestral human gut microbiomes more closely resemble the gut microbiomes of modern humans living in rural communities than those of modern, cosmopolitan humans, researchers led by the University of Oklahoma's Cecil Lewis reported in PLOS One yesterday. (genomeweb.com)
  • Additionally, 4% of the Denisovan genome comes from an unknown archaic human species which diverged from modern humans over one million years ago. (wikipedia.org)
  • So, to visualize these differences, we built a genealogy or a phylogenetic tree of our rabies genomes. (cdc.gov)
  • And there are new tools that can be applied to the study of human variation -- including large scale autosomal analyses using arrays, whole mitochondrial genome sequencing, and so on. (extremetech.com)
  • Since there were two different and distinct mitochondrial genomes present, and since the bones came from different layers, at least two individuals, and probably three, were represented. (creation.com)
  • In several recent articles on the Neandertal mitochondrial genome, 3 , 4 , 5 I was hesitant to make many predictions about the full Neandertal nuclear genome because I had questions about the quality of ancient DNA (aDNA) and because I was not sure if I could trust the data, since it would have been thoroughly filtered by the evolutionary gatekeepers. (creation.com)
  • Genealogists use this type of test because Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA test results, which represent only single ancestral lines, do not capture the overall ancestral background of an individual. (medlineplus.gov)
  • Many TEs proliferate through replicative mechanisms that enable exponential amplification and dispersal to new locations throughout their host genome. (nature.com)
  • Phylogenetic evidence suggests that the ancestral eukaryotic cell emerged as a result of invasion and proliferation of retroelements, selfish mobile genetic elements that copy and paste themselves within a host genome. (aps.org)
  • Genomes A and B were contributed by the sweet sugarcane, S. officinarum whilst C was contributed by the wild species, S. spontaneum . (botany.one)
  • During the evolution of our species, requirements for vitamin D were satisfied by the life of the naked ape in the environment for which its genome was optimized through natural selection . (westonaprice.org)
  • Genome-wide identification of the mutation underlying fleece variation and discriminating ancestral hairy species from modern woolly sheep. (inrae.fr)
  • In sheep, fleece variation discriminates ancestral species carrying a long and hairy fleece from modern domestic sheep ( Ovis aries ) owning a short and woolly fleece. (inrae.fr)
  • Accurately inferring population genetic structure requires whole-genome data across the geographical range of the species, which can be resource-intensive. (nature.com)
  • Out of 13,505 non-model species, currently recognized as 'threatened' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), only around 1% have their genomes sequenced (Brandies et al. (nature.com)
  • They have pinpointed a previously hidden 'whole genome duplication' (WGD) in the common ancestor of these species, which seemingly opened the door to genetic variations that may have conferred an advantage around the time of a major mass extinction some 200 million years ago. (sciencedaily.com)
  • Whole genome duplication is exactly as it sounds -- it's a fascinating evolutionary event where an entire genome is copied and pasted so that a species suddenly has twice the genetic material as it did before. (sciencedaily.com)
  • Whereas most species, like us, are 'diploid' -- having pairs of chromosomes, one from each parent -- after whole genome duplication everything is in four copies. (sciencedaily.com)
  • Eventually, a species genome will revert to the typical pairs through a process called rediploidisation. (sciencedaily.com)
  • As a result, the ancient original whole genome duplication that happened before the species had separated had been missed until now. (sciencedaily.com)
  • Fontsere C, de Manuel M, Marques-Bonet T, Kuhlwilm M. Admixture in mammals and how to understand its functional implications: on the abundance of gene flow in mammalian species, its impact on the genome, and roads into a functional understanding. (upf.edu)
  • The ability to produce crops that meet societal needs is enhanced by a thorough understanding of the genome of a species. (biomedcentral.com)
  • Recent innovations are driving a paradigm shift in which the extent and relevance of structural variation within the pan-genome of crop species are now being considered. (biomedcentral.com)
  • The new study used data from the 1,000 Genomes Project, a publicly accessible database of complete human genomes from people of different ancestral backgrounds. (stanford.edu)
  • By having a better understanding of the makeup of the ancestral human gut microbiome, the researchers said they will be better positioned to gauge how the gut microbiome has evolved, how a modern lifestyle and its accoutrements have affected the gut microbiome, and whether those changes have contributed to disease. (genomeweb.com)
  • This paper demonstrates that we can use ancient human biological samples to learn about these ancestral relationships, despite the challenges of subsequent events like degradation and contamination. (genomeweb.com)
  • By pyrosequencing the 16S rDNA V3 regions of microbial samples obtained from human feces found at archeological sites, Lewis and his colleagues were able to begin to get a glimpse of what that ancestral human microbiome may have contained. (genomeweb.com)
  • Our results suggest that the most dramatic change to the gut microbiome in the human ancestral line has been the modern transformation of the human condition in cosmopolitan populations. (genomeweb.com)
  • Multiple whole genome duplication events famously occurred in our ancient early vertebrate ancestors and these have shaped the landscape of our modern human genome. (sciencedaily.com)
  • The authors include researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health. (genome.gov)
  • Undoubtedly, those are excellent uses for genetic tests, but that isn't the complete story of the human genome. (extremetech.com)
  • Glunčić M, Rosandić M, Jelovina D, Dekanić K, Vlahović I, Paar V. Global Repeat Map Method for Higher Order Repeat Alpha Satellites in Human and Chimpanzee Genomes (Build 37.2 Assembly). (srce.hr)
  • Thus, the resulting genome is a composite of two or three individuals, much like the original human genome, which was generated from the DNA of several individuals. (creation.com)
  • Tracing the Evolution of Shiitake Mushrooms Understanding Lentinula genomes and their evolution could provide strategies for converting plant waste into sugars for biofuel production. (doe.gov)
  • However, 3D genome evolution and its relationship with natural selection remains largely unexplored. (nature.com)
  • Since our genome was selected under these conditions through evolution, it should be evident that our biology was optimized for a vitamin D supply that is far higher than we currently regard as normal. (westonaprice.org)
  • Transposable elements (TE) play critical roles in shaping genome evolution. (researchgate.net)
  • This makes it difficult to decipher the impact of these elements on the dynamics of genome evolution. (researchgate.net)
  • Genome Insider: Methane Makers in Yosemite's Lakes Meet researchers who sampled the microbial communities living in the mountaintop lakes of the Sierra Nevada mountains to see how climate change affects freshwater ecosystems, and how those ecosystems work. (doe.gov)
  • But with two projects, communities are forming to generate high quality genomes to benefit researchers. (doe.gov)
  • Researchers determined the origin of a group of protein-based light sensors in land plants and a series of related phytoplankton by sequencing and comparing RNA in these genomes. (doe.gov)
  • The researchers found that the 12 haplotypes formed three groups, suggesting that there were three founding genomes (A, B and C) which were involved in the origin of the Saccharum genus and modern sugarcane cultivars. (botany.one)
  • To address this issue, researchers accumulated data from 201 previous genome-wide association studies, including about 1.65 million individuals from five ancestral groups: African, East Asian, European, Hispanic and South Asian. (genome.gov)
  • Once prohibitively expensive, whole genome sequencing (WGS) was, until recently, only available to the very wealthy and accomplished and/or to researchers with unique access. (cdc.gov)
  • But the authors identify a minimum of three ancestral populations from their stats (WHG, EEF and ANE), and four meta-populations from the available ancient data (WHG, EEF, ANE and SHG). (blogspot.com)
  • However, the design of these studies overwhelmingly included individuals from European ancestral populations. (genome.gov)
  • An individual's genome is a mosaic of segments from different ancestral populations. (bps.ac.uk)
  • Genome-wide association studies have identified more than 100 genetic loci for SLE susceptibility across populations, with most of the genetic risk shared across borders and ethnicities. (medscape.com)
  • In genome-wide association studies (GWAS) genetic loci that influence complex traits are localized by inspecting associations between genotypes of genetic markers and the values of the trait of interest. (lu.se)
  • Genome-wide genetic association studies (GWAS) have been performed in large collections of SLE patients and controls. (medscape.com)
  • 2019 ). Consequently, resolving the population structure of most wild and endangered fauna with genome-wide SNP markers has been challenging. (nature.com)
  • We've know about whole genome duplication and rediploidisation for a long time but what is new, and exciting, is that we have shown that the time it takes for the second part of the process to complete is very important. (sciencedaily.com)
  • These 49 SNPs were sufficient to recapitulate the population genetic structure obtained from the whole genome data. (nature.com)
  • We used genome-wide SNPs generated for 154 diploid banana cultivars and 68 samples of the wild M. acuminata to estimate and geo-localize the contribution of the different subspecies of M. acuminata to cultivated banana. (frontiersin.org)
  • There is a strong body of evidence that children are also less susceptible to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection with the ancestral viral isolate. (plos.org)
  • LD refers to correlations among neighbouring alleles, reflecting 'haplotypes' descended from single, ancestral chromosomes. (nih.gov)
  • It is also striking to note that, at least in terms of viral RNA, Omicron replicated better in pediatric NECs compared to both Delta and the ancestral virus. (plos.org)
  • We show that the A and B genomes diverged from a common ancestor ~7 million years ago and that these genomes gave rise to the D genome through homoploid hybrid speciation 1 to 2 million years later. (edu.sa)
  • Taken together, these data show that the nasal epithelium of children supports lower infection and replication of ancestral SARS-CoV-2, although this may be changing as the virus evolves. (plos.org)
  • A cheaper strategy is to employ a subset of markers that can efficiently recapitulate the population genetic structure inferred by the whole genome data. (nature.com)
  • The research group calculated the polygenic risk scores using data from each of the different ancestral groups, either separately or all together. (genome.gov)
  • For each ancestral group, the polygenic risk score that used data from all ancestries worked at least as well as or better than the risk scores derived from data from the same ancestral group. (genome.gov)
  • Classical and ancestral inbreeding coefficients were computed from pedigree data using the gene dropping method. (scirp.org)
  • And where previously all viruses within an outbreak would have looked genetically more or less the same, we can see in whole genome data that some of these viruses clearly cluster together, genetically, whereas others are more distinct. (cdc.gov)
  • The phylogeographic analysis of full genome data has annually by 1 of the 4 DENV serotypes ( 4 ). (cdc.gov)
  • Fig. 1 ) were discovered, with the first two classes contributing to the variation in genome content. (biomedcentral.com)
  • The structural variation that has been uncovered in the pan-genome era necessitates a reevaluation of the determinants of phenotype. (biomedcentral.com)
  • It appears as though the dog genome was designed with core structures that do not change, as well as certain simpler genetic structures that can combine to produce a wide array of variation in certain features. (icr.org)
  • We used genome assemblies of bread wheat and five diploid relatives to analyze genome-wide samples of gene trees, as well as to estimate evolutionary relatedness and divergence times. (edu.sa)
  • Average classical inbreeding coefficients of inbred individuals were 2.19%, 1.94% and 2.07%, while average Ballou's ancestral inbreeding coefficients were 3.69%, 1.39% and 2.21% for the Angler, Red-and-White DP and the combined breed pedigree analyses, respectively. (scirp.org)
  • Our findings imply that the present-day bread wheat genome is a product of multiple rounds of hybrid speciation (homoploid and polyploid) and lay the foundation for a new framework for understanding the wheat genome as a multilevel phylogenetic mosaic. (edu.sa)
  • 2020 ). Unravelling population structure involves the use of multiple markers from across the genome (Pritchard et al. (nature.com)
  • To the best of our knowledge, this is the first-ever SNP-based AIMs panel for big cats, which can be used as a cost-effective alternative to whole-genome sequencing for detecting the biogeographical origin of Indian tigers. (nature.com)
  • The huge majority of subjects in genome-wide association studies are of European heritage, representing 96% of participants in 2009 and 81% in 2016, according to a 2016 report in Nature (https://bit.ly/2IDG6Xh). (medscape.com)
  • Given that African Americans, Puerto Ricans and Mexicans still represent a small fraction of people included in genome-wide association studies, the authors were not able to identify a second population in which to replicate the findings. (medscape.com)
  • Collection of large (several thousand strong) cohorts of SLE patients and their family members has allowed genome-wide association studies to proceed in this disease. (medscape.com)
  • Sequencing of Restriction site-associated DNA (RAD) markers (RADseq) has made it increasingly possible to perform NGS without having a reference genome in hand (Catchen et al. (nature.com)
  • This included 29 published reference genomes and collection isolates from 15 countries spread across the five continents above. (news-medical.net)
  • We announce the assembly of the first de novo reference genome for the California Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica). (researchgate.net)
  • The allohexaploid bread wheat genome consists of three closely related subgenomes (A, B, and D), but a clear understanding of their phylogenetic history has been lacking. (edu.sa)
  • An approximate Bayesian computation approach for modeling genome rearrangements. (tau.ac.il)
  • And sequencing entire genomes allows us to detect very small genetic differences between the sampled viruses--very few mutations. (cdc.gov)
  • Tips for a Winning Community Science Program Proposal In the Genome Insider podcast, tips to successfully avail of the JGI's proposal calls, many through the Community Science Program. (doe.gov)
  • During DNA sequencing, a low proportion of the Denisova 2, Denisova 4 and Denisova 8 genomes were found to have survived, but a high proportion of the Denisova 3 genome was intact. (wikipedia.org)
  • 2009 ). With the advancement in next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques several thousand to millions of markers across the genome have become available for population genetic analysis, even for non-model organisms (Khan and Tyagi 2021 ). (nature.com)
  • Via genome sequencing of both lung transplant recipients and donors, we examine genetic ancestral markers that are associated with graft rejection and dysfunction. (nih.gov)
  • It's the first paper to report on full genomes from Mesolithic and Neolithic Europe. (blogspot.com)
  • 98 full-length DENV-4 genomes and compared the results Mapper Program (available in Newbler v.2.6 software, with those of a similar analysis on 314 envelope gene http://454.com/products/analysis-software/index.asp). (cdc.gov)
  • People who have been previously infected, even with a Delta variant, or ancestral strains, do not necessarily have protection against infection with Omicron. (cdc.gov)
  • Our research provides new information on the likely ecology and environment of the ancestral snake and suggests that the highly subterranean lives and reduced eyes of living scolecophidian snakes likely evolved as specialisms rather than being the retention of primitive characteristics. (eurekalert.org)