Genetics
- Genetics
Cicadas on different schedules can hybridize
A new genetic study suggests that cicadas that emerge every 17 years have swapped genetic material with those that emerge every 13 years.
- Life
Larger spleens may help ‘sea nomads’ stay underwater longer
The Bajau people of Southeast Asia have a gene variant associated with larger spleens, boosting their oxygen while breath-hold diving, researchers say.
- Genetics
Sweet potatoes might have arrived in Polynesia long before humans
Genetic analysis suggests that sweet potatoes were present in Polynesia over 100,000 years ago, and didn’t need help crossing the Pacific.
- Genetics
Birds get their internal compass from this newly ID’d eye protein
Birds can sense magnetic fields, thanks to internal compasses that likely rely on changes to proteins in the retina.
- Genetics
Atacama mummy’s deformities were unduly sensationalized
A malformed human mummy known as Ata has been sensationalized as alien. A DNA analysis helps overturn that misconception.
- Genetics
The last wild horses aren’t truly wild
The ancestor of today’s domesticated horses remains a mystery after a new analysis of ancient horse DNA.
- Genetics
Study debunks fishy tale of how rabbits were first tamed
A popular tale about rabbit domestication turns out to be fiction.
- Genetics
Genes could record forensic clues to time of death
Scientists have found predictable patterns in the way our genetic machinery winds down after death.
- Life
Here’s how cells rapidly stuff two meters of DNA into microscopic capsules
Scientists have figured out how cells quickly pack up their chromosomes before a cell divides.
- Genetics
Scientists find 10 new defense systems used by bacteria
Scientists identify 10 groups of genes that appear to govern defense systems used by bacteria against virus attacks.
- Genetics
Baby macaques are the first primates to be cloned like Dolly the Sheep
Scientists have cloned two baby macaque monkeys with the same technique used to clone Dolly. The research could help advance the cloning of other species.
- Neuroscience
Cilia in the brain may be busier than previously thought
A hairlike appendage sticking out of brain cells may be much more important in the brain than scientists realized.
