Mature sperm lack intact mitochondrial DNA, study finds

New research provides insight about the bedrock scientific principle that mitochondrial DNA—the distinct genetic code embedded in the organelle that serves as the powerplant of every cell in the body—is exclusively passed ...

Biologists find what colors a butterfly's world

As butterflies flit among flowers, they don't all view blossoms the same way. In a phenomenon called sexually dimorphic vision, females of some butterfly species perceive ultraviolet color while the males see light and dark. ...

Evolutionary forces shape the human skeleton

Genetic kinship analyses of human bones reach their limits if the DNA is poorly preserved or if destructive sampling is not possible. New research shows that in such cases, comparisons of the structure and shape of certain ...

New insights into the evolution of the plague pathogen

The origins of the plague go back to the Neolithic Age, with the oldest findings of the causative pathogen Yersinia pestis coming from human bones around 5,000 years old. In the history of the plague, the late antique Justinianic ...

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