The field of ancient DNA has revealed important aspects of human evolutionary past, including relationships with Denisovans and Neandertals. These studies have relied on DNA from bones and teeth, which store DNA and protect ...
Archaeology
Apr 15, 2021
0
2098
The human genome contains the instructions to make tens of thousands of proteins. Each protein folds into a precise shape—and biologists are taught that defined shape dictates the protein's destined function. Tens of thousands ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 14, 2021
0
59
Describing the genetic diversity of human populations is essential to improving our understanding of human diseases and their geographical distribution. However, the vast majority of genetic studies have been focused on populations ...
Evolution
Apr 14, 2021
0
150
Humans have a uniquely high density of sweat glands embedded in their skin—10 times the density of chimpanzees and macaques. Now, researchers at Penn Medicine have discovered how this distinctive, hyper-cooling trait evolved ...
Evolution
Apr 14, 2021
5
117
Over the past decade, the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system has revolutionized genetic engineering, allowing scientists to make targeted changes to organisms' DNA. While the system could potentially be useful in treating a ...
Biotechnology
Apr 9, 2021
12
1904
An elusive whale species in the Southern Ocean could be resilient to near-future ecosystem changes, according to a new study by the universities of Exeter and Copenhagen.
Plants & Animals
Mar 25, 2021
0
27
The human genome contains roughly three million letters and is distributed over 46 chromosomes. Yet the genetic variation from person to person is very small: the genome sequences of any two people differ from each other ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Mar 4, 2021
0
4
The history of dogs has been intertwined, since ancient times, with that of the humans who domesticated them.
Evolution
Feb 23, 2021
2
276
When President Bill Clinton took to a White House lectern 20 years ago to announce that the human genome sequence had been completed, he hailed the breakthrough as "the most important, most wondrous map ever produced by ...
Biotechnology
Feb 22, 2021
0
105
An international team of researchers discovered a rare genetic disease characterized by severe malformations of the limbs. As the scientists describe in the journal Nature, the condition is caused by a newly identified epigenetic ...
Evolution
Feb 11, 2021
1
123
