A team of researchers at USC and the University of Utah has received a $2.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to map out how an incurable eye disease affects the wiring that powers vision in the eye, in hopes of discovering ways to slow or prevent blindness. Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a progressive disease with four known stages that affects the retina, the area at the back of the eye where light is turned into electrical signals that the brain processes to produce sight. The research team seeks to develop comprehensive maps for each stage, detailing nerve connections in the retina and how they break down. The map of the retina’s nerve network, referred to as a “connectome,” functions similarly to a wiring diagram, showing how nerve cells, or neurons, transmit signals. By linking changes in structure to changes in function, the team hopes to gain valuable insights for battling RP.

Neanderthal genes make up 1-2% of the genomes of non-Africans. Scientists from UC Berkeley and MPI-EVA analyzed the lengths of regions of Neanderthal DNA in 58 ancient Eurasian genomes of early modern humans and determined that the introgressed genes result from interbreeding between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals about 47,000 years ago, over a single, extended period of about 7,000 years. The findings help pin down dates for out-of-Africa migration and the dispersal of Homo sapiens.

Neuroscience researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina report in Science that special genetic structures, known as R-loops, control the expression of a key gene important for responding to emotional experiences. This genetic mechanism may be particularly important for guiding maladaptive behavioral responses related to psychiatric disorders like substance use and mood disorders.