Genetics News

Scientists Discover Four New Genetic Lineages of Cacao in Peru

Recent findings document the domestication of cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) in the Ecuadorian Amazon region, its region of origin, by at least 5,300 years ago. Lanaud et al. demonstrate the large landscape of domestication of cacao, out of its area of origin, along the Pacific coast of South America, occurring concurrently during this same early time period and in subsequent time periods. Image credit: Fernando Graniel.
Jul 7, 2026 by News Staff

In an analysis of 390 traditionally cultivated cacao trees representing traditional Amazonian varieties, researchers identified four previously unknown genetic lineages, with two showing ancestry linked to exceptional flavor potential and offering new opportunities for growers and chocolate makers. Motilal et al. collected cacao samples from eight departments of Peru. Image credit: Fernando Graniel. Cacao (Theobroma cacao), an outcrossing understorey...

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Representative rock art figures from each of the 11 archaeological sites analyzed by Bossoms Mesa et al. Image credit: Bossoms Mesa et al., 10.1038/s41467-026-74234-2.

Scientists Recover Ancient Human DNA from Cave Walls

Jul 2, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

For the first time, researchers have extracted ancient human DNA directly from the walls of a cave. Although their results do not conclusively link ancient...

Reconstruction of a Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

Ancient DNA Sheds Light on Final Chapter of Neanderthal Life in Northwestern Europe

Jun 25, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Scientists have generated genetic data from 27 Neanderthals who lived in Belgium and France less than approximately 52,500 years ago, painting a richer...

Cave lions painted in the Chauvet Cave, France.

Study: Cave Lions were Distinct Species that Occasionally Bred with Ancestors of Today’s Lions

Jun 10, 2026 by Sergio Prostak

The extinct Eurasian cave lion (Panthera spelaea) and today’s African and Asian lions (Panthera leo) belong to separate evolutionary lineages that diverged...

The Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus) at London Zoo. Image credit: Dick Culbert / CC BY 2.0.

Secret to Sloths’ Slow Life May Lie in Ancient ‘Jumping Genes’

Jun 10, 2026 by News Staff

Along with armadillos and anteaters, sloths are members of Xenarthra, the only clade of placental mammals to have originated in South America. In new research,...

This is an artist's reconstruction of Homo erectus. Image credit: Yale University.

Homo erectus May Have Co-Existed with Denisovans in East Asia

May 15, 2026 by Sergio Prostak

Scientists have extracted and analyzed proteins from the tooth enamel of six Homo erectus individuals who lived in China roughly 400,000 years ago, offering...

Koungoulos et al. discovered for the first time clear links between fossils of the iconic Australian dingo and dogs from East Asia and New Guinea. Image credit: Sharkolot.

Most Australia’s ‘Wild Dogs’ Are Actually Dingoes, DNA Study Finds

May 14, 2026 by News Staff

A large genetic survey reveals that the country’s so-called ‘wild dogs’ remain predominantly dingo, reshaping debates over conservation and wildlife...

Chen et al. constructed a comprehensive genomic dataset of 470 flowering plant species and dated 132 ancient whole-genome duplication (WGD) events that are non-randomly distributed, revealing a clustering around pivotal periods of environmental upheaval and extinction. Image credit: Chen et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2026.04.008.

Duplicated Genomes Helped Flowering Plants Survive End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction

May 12, 2026 by News Staff

A new analysis of 470 flowering plant species finds that whole-genome duplication surged precisely during Earth’s violent environmental crises, suggesting...

A giant squid, at least 10-12 feet in length, approaches the Medusa’s e-jelly lure before realizing the e-jelly is not food and retreating. Image credit: Edie Widder & Nathan Robinson.

Giant Squid DNA Found in Deep Canyons off Australia

May 7, 2026 by News Staff

Using environmental DNA (eDNA) collected from waters more than 4 km deep off Western Australia’s Nyinggulu (Ningaloo) coast, researchers identified a...

Ben Chehida et al. studied convergent evolution in multiple mimetic Neotropical lepidopteran lineages that diverged between 1 and 120 million years ago, including seven species of Ithomiini and Heliconius butterflies and a day-flying Chetone moth. Image credit: Ben Chehida et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003742.

Study: Butterflies and Moths Have Reused Same Genetic Toolkit for 120 Million Years

May 4, 2026 by News Staff

A landmark study of several butterfly lineages and a day-flying moth in South America shows that convergent evolution — when unrelated species arrive...

The Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni). Image credit: Camila Mazzoni.

Two-Toed Sloths May Be Three Distinct Species, New Research Suggests

Apr 29, 2026 by Natali Anderson

A comprehensive genome-wide analysis of Amazonian two-toed sloths (genus Choloepus) suggests the animals are more genetically diverse than once believed,...

A group of Neanderthals in a cave. Image credit: Tyler B. Tretsven.

Scientists Reconstruct One of Oldest Known Neanderthal Communities

Apr 21, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from eight fossils found in Stajnia Cave in Poland reveals a tight-knit group of Neanderthals who lived about 100,000 years ago,...

Canadian Eskimo dogs. Illustration by John James Audubon and John Bachman (1845-1848).

Ancient DNA Study Rewrites Origins of Europe’s First Dogs

Mar 26, 2026 by News Staff

Scientists have extracted and analyzed DNA from 216 canid remains, including 181 from Paleolithic and Mesolithic Europe. The oldest data that they recovered...

Li et al. evaluated the two-year effect of daily multivitamin-multimineral supplements and cocoa extract (500 mg cocoa flavanols per day, including 80 mg epicatechin) on five DNA methylation measures of biological aging among 958 participants (482 women and 476 men) in the COSMOS study. Image credit: Ri Butov.

New Research Links Daily Multivitamins to Slower Biological Aging

Mar 11, 2026 by News Staff

In a randomized clinical trial of older adults, researchers found that taking multivitamins for two years modestly slowed epigenetic markers of aging —...

A pair of scarlet macaws (Ara macao) in Costa Rica. Image credit: Julio-César Chávez / CC BY 4.0.

Ancient Parrot DNA Points to Pre-Inca Animal Trade

Mar 10, 2026 by News Staff

Ancient DNA from brightly colored feathers found in Peru shows that at least four distinct species of Amazonian parrots — the scarlet macaw (Ara...

Neanderthals. Image credit: Gemini AI.

Study: Ancient Mating Preferences Helped Shape Human Genome

Mar 2, 2026 by News Staff

Prehistoric humans and Neanderthals didn’t just interbreed, they did so with a consistent sex bias, as male Neanderthals and female modern humans mated...

Cave lions painted in the Chauvet Cave, France.

Japanese Archipelago Was Once a Refuge for Cave Lions

Feb 13, 2026 by Sergio Prostak

Between 73,000 and 20,000 years ago (Late Pleistocene), the Japanese Archipelago was inhabited by cave lions (Panthera spelaea), according to a new genetic...

This image depicts a Pleistocene landscape in northern Spain with woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius), a woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis), and European cave lions (Panthera leo spelaea) with a reindeer carcass. Image credit: Mauricio Antón.

14,400-Year-Old Woolly Rhinoceros Genome Shows No Evidence of Recent Inbreeding

Jan 14, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

The woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) is a cold-adapted herbivore that went extinct around 14,000 years ago, but little is known about their...

An artist’s concept of a Penghu Denisovan walking under the bright Sun during the Pleistocene of Taiwan. Image credit: Cheng-Han Sun.

Researchers Sequence Genome of 200,000-Year-Old Denisovan

Jan 2, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

A research team led by Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology scientists has generated the high-quality genome assembly of a Denisovan using...

The facial depiction of the Beachy Head Woman. Image credit: Face Lab, Liverpool John Moores University.

‘Beachy Head Woman’ Originated from Southern England, Ancient DNA Study Shows

Dec 23, 2025 by News Staff

The skeletal remains of an individual colloquially referred to as Beachy Head Woman were re-discovered in the Eastbourne Town Hall collection in 2012,...

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