Genetics
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HumansAncient DNA reveals the first glimpse of what a Denisovan may have looked like
A controversial technique reconstructs a teenage Denisovan’s physical appearance from genetics.
By Bruce Bower -
HumansDNA indicates how ancient migrations shaped South Asian languages and farming
Farming in the region may have sprung up locally, while herders from afar sparked language changes.
By Bruce Bower -
AnthropologyThis ancient Denisovan finger bone is surprisingly humanlike
Despite Neandertal ties, extinct hominids called Denisovans had a touching link to humans, a new study finds.
By Bruce Bower -
GeneticsThere’s no evidence that a single ‘gay gene’ exists
Many genetic factors with small effects combine with one’s environment to influence sexual behavior, researchers say.
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HumansIndia’s Skeleton Lake contains the bones of mysterious European migrants
Not all of the hundreds of skeletons found at a north Indian lake are from the same place or period. What killed any of these people is still unknown.
By Bruce Bower -
LifeCRISPR enters its first human clinical trials
The gene editor will be used in lab dishes in cancer and blood disorder trials, and to directly edit a gene in human eyes in a blindness therapy test.
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AnimalsThere’s more to pufferfish than that goofy spiked balloon
Three odd things about pufferfishes: how they mate, how they bite and what’s up with no fish scales?
By Susan Milius -
GeneticsThis gene may help worms live longer, but not healthier
Antiaging therapies may have trade-offs, research on worms suggests.
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AnimalsGround beetle genitals have the genetic ability to get strange. They don’t
A new look at the genetics of sex organs finds underpinnings of conflicts over genital size.
By Susan Milius -
AnthropologyAncient DNA reveals the origins of the Philistines
A mysterious Biblical-era population may have fled Bronze Age calamities.
By Bruce Bower -
Health & MedicineAntioxidants may encourage the spread of lung cancer rather than prevent it
Antioxidants protect lung cancer cells from free radicals, but also spur metastasis, two new studies suggest.
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GeneticsDNA reveals a European Neandertal lineage that lasted 80,000 years
Ancient DNA from cave fossils in Belgium and Germany shows an unbroken genetic line of the extinct hominids emerged at least 120,000 years ago.
By Bruce Bower