News From the Field
New Research Shows How Gene Function Drives Natural Selection in Important Class of Genetic Elements

December 11, 2008

For years, researchers thought that most of DNA was passive "junk" and knew little about it. However, new findings are peeling back the odd and baffling world of transposons. Now, researchers at the University of Georgia have just found that natural selection on gene function is driving the evolution of one kind of transposable element called the LTR retrotransposon. Full Story

Source
University of Georgia

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of $6.06 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 45,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

 Get News Updates by Email 

Useful NSF Web Sites:
NSF Home Page: http://www.nsf.gov
NSF News: http://www.nsf.gov/news/
For the News Media: http://www.nsf.gov/news/newsroom.jsp
Science and Engineering Statistics: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/
Awards Searches: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/