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Danaus plexippus. Image credit: Gyulche1.

Study: Ancient Junk DNA Contributes to Diversity of Butterfly Wings

Oct 25, 2022 by News Staff

In the 1920s, biologists proposed that butterfly wing pattern diversity evolved as variations of a ground plan of pattern elements that vary in color,...

A digital illustration inspired by methane-eating archaea and the Borgs that assimilate them. Image credit: Jenny Nuss / Berkeley Lab.

Researchers Discover Enigmatic Genetic Elements: Methane-Eating ‘Borgs’

Oct 20, 2022 by News Staff

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have discovered the unusual DNA structures within Methanoperedens — a group of archaea that...

A Neanderthal father and his daughter. Image credit: Tom Bjorklund.

Ancient Genomes Provide Insights into Social Organization of Neanderthals

Oct 19, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleoanthropologists have explored the social organization of Neanderthals using ancient nuclear, Y-chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA data from the remains...

The Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea). Image credit: Dennis Hansen, Universität Zürich.

Scientists Sequence Chromosome-Level Genome of Aldabra Giant Tortoise

Oct 12, 2022 by News Staff

Researchers have for the first time assembled the high-quality chromosome-level genome of the Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea), one of only...

The West Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica). Image credit: Raindom.

New Ancient Lineage of Wild Goat Identified in Turkey

Oct 11, 2022 by News Staff

Dubbed the Taurasian tur, the newly-identified lineage is best represented by a 14,000-year-old genome sequenced from a specimen found in Direkli Cave,...

Map of New Guinea Island and examples of fruits of (A, B) Musa acuminata ssp. banksii and closely related cultivated AA accessions from Papua New Guinea: (C) ‘Mero Mero;’ (D) ‘Nesuri;’ (E) ‘Wiau;’ (F) ‘Talasea;’ (G) ‘Seseve;’ (H) ‘Tobaung;’ (I) ‘Tavilo;’ (J) ‘Nape’e.’ Dark blue dots on the map represent collection locations for accessions within the cluster ‘banksii.’ Image credit: Julie Sardos / NARI.

Domestication History of Bananas is More Complex Than Previously Thought

Oct 10, 2022 by News Staff

New research led by the global research-for-development organization Bioversity International confirms that the genomes of today’s domesticated banana...

Todd et al. found a strong phylogeographic structure in modern donkeys (Equus asinus) that supports a single domestication in Africa around 5000 BCE, followed by further expansions in this continent and Eurasia and ultimately returning to Africa. Image credit: JackieLou DL.

Donkeys Were First Domesticated in Africa Over 7,000 Years Ago

Sep 10, 2022 by News Staff

Domestic donkeys (Equus asinus) have been important to humans for thousands of years, being the primary source of work and transport for many cultures....

Reconstruction of a Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

Neocortical Neurogenesis in Modern Humans Greater Than It Was in Neanderthals

Sep 9, 2022 by News Staff

Neanderthal brains were similar in size to those of modern humans but differed in shape. What scientists cannot tell from fossils is how Neanderthal brains...

Look-alike humans share similar genotypes and differ in their DNA methylation and microbiome landscape. Image credit: Joshi et al., doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111257.

Study: Look-Alike Humans Have Similar DNA

Aug 23, 2022 by News Staff

New research led by Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute scientists shows that people with extreme look-alike faces share common genotypes, but...

Citrullus seeds from Uan Muhuggiag, Libya. Scale bar - 1 mm. Image credit: A. Bieniek.

Study: 6,000-Year-Old Watermelon from Libya Was Used for Its Nutritious Seeds, Not Its Flesh

Aug 1, 2022 by News Staff

Iconographic evidence from Egypt suggests that watermelon pulp was consumed there as a dessert as early as 4,360 years ago. The oldest known watermelon...

Delsol et al. support early colonial accounts that suggest Spanish Andalusia was the source of the first horses brought to the Caribbean.

Researchers Sequence DNA of Post-Columbian Domestic Horse

Jul 27, 2022 by News Staff

Species of the horse genus Equus first appeared on the North American continent during the Pliocene era and spread to and across Eurasia beginning around...

Alsophila spinulosa. Image credit: Quanzi Li.

Scientists Sequence Genome of Flying Spider-Monkey Tree Fern

Jul 26, 2022 by News Staff

The flying spider-monkey tree fern, scientifically known as Alsophila spinulosa, is a species of tree fern widely distributed across Asia. Alsophila spinulosa....

Li et al. systematically examined horizontal gene transfer in 218 high-quality genomes of diverse insects and found that they acquired 1,410 genes exhibiting diverse functions, including many not previously reported, via 741 distinct transfers from non-metazoan donors. Image credit: Li et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.06.014.

Insects Carry 1,410 Horizontally-Transferred Microbial Genes: Study

Jul 19, 2022 by News Staff

In new research, a team of scientists from Zhejiang University and Vanderbilt University examined horizontal gene transfer — an important evolutionary...

Boolani et al. suggest that energy and fatigue are unique traits that could be defined by distinct bacterial communities not driven by diet. Image credit: Darryl Leja, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health.

New Study Finds Genetic Link between Alzheimer’s Disease and Gastrointestinal Tract Disorders

Jul 18, 2022 by News Staff

Consistent with the concept of the gut-brain phenomenon, observational studies suggest a relationship between Alzheimer’s disease and gastrointestinal...

Scientists Sequence Genome of Red Deer Cave Human

Jul 14, 2022 by News Staff

Researchers have sequenced and analyzed the genome of a Late Pleistocene hominin from Red Deer Cave located in Southwest China, which was previously reported...

Model of Asgard viral infection mechanisms and protein similarity with other viruses: (a) genes identified in Asgard viruses involved in infection (i), replication (ii), transcription (iii) and translation (iv); Asgard viruses are shown as different colored hexagons, Asgard hosts as different colored circles, and host transcription machinery is labeled with ovals color coded by function (see legend); (b) distribution of 35 genes (lower x axis) among Asgard viruses (y axis); filled circles indicate annotated orthologues, while white circles indicate that an orthologue was not identified. Image credit: Rambo et al., doi: 10.1038/s41564-022-01150-8.

Mysterious Asgard Archaea-Infecting Viruses Discovered

Jun 30, 2022 by News Staff

Asgard archaea are globally distributed microorganisms related to eukaryotes — complex organisms including animals, plants, fungi, and amoeba. However,...

Bergström et al. provide insights into long-standing questions on the origin of dogs. Image credit: Jessica Rae Peto.

Dogs were Domesticated in Eastern Eurasia, Ancient DNA Study Suggests

Jun 29, 2022 by News Staff

The gray wolf (Canis lupus) was the first species to give rise to a domestic population, and they remained widespread throughout the latest Ice Age when...

The leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Image credit: Joseph C. Boone / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Scientists Decode Genomes of Leafy and Weedy Seadragons

Jun 28, 2022 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the University of Oregon and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has sequenced the genomes of two living seadragon...

Petrosino et al. corroborate the hypothesis that LINE elements might be active and functionally important in the central nervous system of highly intelligent organisms such as octopuses. Image credit: Albert Kok / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Study: Same ‘Jumping Genes’ are Active in Octopus and Human Brains

Jun 28, 2022 by News Staff

‘Jumping genes,’ also known as transposons or transposable elements, widely contribute to the evolution of genomes allowing genomic innovations. These...