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A spotted skunk doing its signature handstand. Image credit: Jerry W. Dragoo.

New Research Reveals Seven Spotted Skunk Species Instead of Four

Sep 3, 2021 by News Staff

A team of U.S. scientists led by Chicago State University has analyzed species limits and diversification patterns in spotted skunks using nuclear and...

The bowfin (Amia calva). Image credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.

Bowfin Genome Sheds New Light on Evolution of Ray-Finned Fishes

Aug 31, 2021 by News Staff

The bowfin (Amia calva) is a species of ray-finned fish native to North America. Also known as freshwater dogfish, grinnel, and mud pike, this species...

A paleoartist’s reconstruction of the three extinct species whose genomes were sequenced by Liu et al.: in the foreground is a Siberian unicorn (Elasmotherium sibiricum), and close behind are two Merck’s rhinoceroses (Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis); in the far background is a woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis). Image credit: Beth Zaiken.

Ancient and Modern DNA Reveals Evolutionary History of Rhinoceros Family

Aug 25, 2021 by News Staff

Researhers have sequenced the genomes of two living and three extinct rhinoceros species and compared them to existing data from the remaining three living...

Key features of the common seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) and the alligator pipefish (Syngnathoides biaculeatus) and their phylogenetic positions: (A) the common seadragon has a dragon-shaped body with many special leaf-like appendages and long tubular snout lacking teeth; common seadragon males incubate eggs on a brood patch on the underside of the tail; (B) a male alligator pipefish showing eggs incubated on a brood patch on the underside of trunk; (C) phylogenetic tree of 19 ray-finned fishes. Image credit: Qu et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abg5196.

Scientists Sequence Seadragon and Pipefish Genomes

Aug 19, 2021 by News Staff

A team of researchers from Germany, China, Singapore, Belgium, and Japan has successfully sequenced and analyzed male and female genomes of the common...

Philippine Ayta Magbukon People Have Highest Amount of Denisovan DNA in the World

Aug 12, 2021 by News Staff

New research led by Uppsala University scientists suggests that there were multiple archaic human species that inhabited the Philippines prior to the arrival...

Condemi et al. analyzed the blood types of Neanderthals and Denisovans by looking at their DNA. Image credit: CNRS.

Researchers Decipher Blood Groups of Neanderthals and Denisovans

Jul 30, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

An analysis of the high-quality nuclear genomes previously published from three Neanderthals and one Denisovan shows that these extinct hominins were polymorphic...

Gelabert et al. retrieved human and mammalian nuclear and mitochondrial environmental shotgun genomes from a 25,000-year-old sediment sample from Satsurblia Cave in Georgia. Image credit: Anna Belfer-Cohen.

25,000-Year-Old Human and Animal DNA Found in Georgian Cave

Jul 14, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of scientists has retrieved and analyzed nuclear and mitochondrial environmental DNA of humans, wolfs (Canis lupus), and bisons (Bison...

Kennedy et al. found that fetal gut colonization of healthy term infants does not occur before birth. Image credit: Darryl Leja, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health.

Most Bacteria in Gut Microbiome are Heritable, New Study Suggests

Jul 9, 2021 by News Staff

Commensal bacteria are found throughout an organism, but it is not known whether associations between gut bacteria and their host are heritable. In a new...

Illustration showing trends in the levels of purifying selection (purple) and thermostability (green) in G-quadruplexes across different regions of the genome (shown at bottom). Image credit: Kateryna Makova & Dani Zemba, Penn State.

G-Quadruplexes are Fundamental, Functional Elements of Human Genome, Researchers Say

Jul 6, 2021 by News Staff

DNA usually forms the classic double helix shape — two strands wound around each other. But approximately 1% of the human genome has the ability...

Astronaut Christina Koch plating Saccharomyces cerevisiae following transformation. Image credit: NASA.

CRISPR-Cas9 Genome Editing Demonstrated aboard International Space Station

Jul 1, 2021 by News Staff

A team of U.S. scientists has developed a CRISPR-based method for studying how eukaryotic cells repair DNA in space. Astronaut Christina Koch plating Saccharomyces...

Life restoration of the koala lemur Megaladapis edwardsi. Image credit: Michael B. H. / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Researchers Sequence Genome of Extinct Giant Lemur

Jun 30, 2021 by Natali Anderson

An international team of scientists has successfully sequenced the nuclear genome of Megaladapis edwardsi, a species of megafaunal lemur that went extinct...

Souilmi et al. apply evolutionary analyses to human genomic datasets to recover selection events involving tens of human genes that interact with coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, that likely started more than 20,000 years ago. Image credit: Souilmi et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.067.

Coronavirus Epidemic Occurred in East Asia 25,000 Years Ago, Genetic Study Shows

Jun 28, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

The genomes of multiple East Asian populations bear the signature of a viral epidemic that occurred approximately 900 generations, or 25,000 years (28...

Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia. Image credit: Alex Demin / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ancient DNA Analysis Sheds New Light on Occupational History of Denisova Cave

Jun 24, 2021 by News Staff

In a new study published this week in the journal Nature, an international team of researchers analyzed DNA from more than 700 sediment samples that were...

The European water vole (Arvicola amphibius). Image credit: Peter Trimming / CC BY 2.0.

Scientists Sequence Genome of European Water Vole

Jun 24, 2021 by News Staff

A team of UK researchers has decoded the complete genome of a semi-aquatic mammal called the European water vole (Arvicola amphibius). The European water...

The Basenji dog (Canis lupus familiaris).

Researchers Sequence Genome of Basenji Dog

Jun 2, 2021 by News Staff

An international team of scientists has sequenced and assembled the genome of the Basenji dog (Canis lupus familiaris), an ancient dog breed of central...

Watermelon Was Domesticated in Sudan from Kordofan Melon, New Genetic Study Suggests

May 25, 2021 by News Staff

Scientists have sequenced and analyzed the genome of the Kordofan melon (Citrullus lanatus subsp. cordophanus), a Sudanese form of melon with nonbitter...

Ancient horses crossed over the Bering Land Bridge in both directions between North America and Asia multiple times during the Pleistocene. Image credit: Julius Csotonyi.

Eurasian Horses Diverged from North American Horses One Million Years Ago, DNA Study Shows

May 24, 2021 by News Staff

In new research, an international team of scientists sequenced and analyzed mitochondrial and nuclear genomes of living and extinct caballine horses (Equus...

A cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) with fruit pods in various stages of ripening. Image credit: Marco Vasquez.

Scientists Discover Gene that Controls Flowering in Cacao

May 18, 2021 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the Pennsylvania State University has made a discovery that may help accelerate breeding efforts aimed at improving the disease-ridden...

The ecological function of the main volatiles emitted by opening flowers, flower buds, leaves, and stems of the lavender (Lavandula angustifolia): a large proportion of linalool, linalyl acetate, and lavandulyl acetate in opening flowers function as attractants for pollinators; at the flower bud stage, α-pinene, β-pinene, and β-ocimene, etc. provide defense against herbivores and predators; borneol, camphor, 1,8-cineole, camphene, and bornyl acetate are the main compounds in leaves and stems, and are always repellents to pests. Image credit: Li et al., doi: 10.1038/s41438-021-00490-6.

Researchers Sequence Genome of New Lavender Cultivar

May 17, 2021 by Natali Anderson

A research team in China has produced the high-quality reference genome for ‘Jingxun 2,’ a cultivar of the lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) recently...