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Atopopsyllus cionus may carry evidence of an ancestral strain of the bubonic plague (Yersinia pestis). Image credit: George Poinar Jr.

Fleas are Parasitic Scorpionflies, Genetic Analysis Reveals

Dec 23, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

Fleas are not a separate insect order, as previously thought, and are a lineage of scorpionflies, which evolved when they started feeding on the blood...

Meachen et al. report detailed morphometric, isotopic, and genetic analyses of Zhùr that reveal details of her appearance, evolutionary relationships to other wolves and short life-history and ecology. Image credit: Meachen et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.11.011.

57,000-Year-Old Frozen Remains of Wolf Pup Found in Canada

Dec 22, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

An ancient wolf pup, named Zhùr (means ‘wolf’ in the Hän language of the local Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in people), lived approximately 57,000 years...

Three roughly 2,000-year-old corn cobs from the El Gigante rock shelter site in Honduras. Image credit: Thomas Harper.

Ancient DNA Sheds New Light on Corn Domestication

Dec 15, 2020 by News Staff

The domestication of corn (Zea mays ssp. mays), a global food staple with great economic and cultural importance, began in southwestern Mexico 9,000 years...

Aspyn Palatnick holding the world’s first mobile genetics laboratory at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s 125th anniversary Open House. Image credit: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Researchers Develop Handheld DNA Sequencer

Dec 8, 2020 by News Staff

By pairing a new app called iGenomics with a handheld DNA sequencer, users can easily align and analyze relatively small genomes, like those of viral pathogens. Aspyn...

Solanum pimpinellifolium in Botanisk tidsskrift, 1872.

Researchers Sequence Genome of Tomato’s Wild Ancestor

Dec 2, 2020 by News Staff

Scientists at Boyce Thompson Institute have produced a high-quality chromosome-scale genome sequence for the currant tomato Solanum pimpinellifolium, the...

When mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) age, the transcription factor GATA6 is increasingly produced in the cell to induce aging response; by transcription factor-based cellular reprogramming, aged MSCs are rejuvenated with a reduction in GATA6 effects on cellular aging. Image credit: AlphaMed Press.

Scientists Identify Gene Responsible for Aging of Human Cells

Dec 1, 2020 by News Staff

A gene called GATA6 (GATA binding protein 6) regulates aging of human mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs), according to new research from the University...

The occasional use of stone tools as ‘strike-a-lights’ was a technocultural feature shared among Neanderthals in France.

Neanderthals Were as Good at Tolerating Smoke-Related Toxins as Early Modern Humans: Study

Nov 30, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genetic study conducted by researchers from Leiden University and Wageningen University thoroughly debunks previous claims that a genetic mutation...

Su et al. report a multiplexed error-robust fluorescence in situ hybridization (MERFISH)-based method for genome-scale chromatin tracing and demonstrate simultaneous imaging of more than 1,000 genomic loci and nascent transcripts of more than 1,000 genes together with landmark nuclear structures. Image credit: Su et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.07.032.

Researchers Capture High-Resolution 3D Images of Human Chromosomes

Nov 20, 2020 by News Staff

A team of scientists at Harvard University has developed a new imaging technology for visualizing organization of chromatin, a substance within a chromosome...

Amphimedon queenslandica. Image credit: University of Queensland.

Sea Sponge from Great Barrier Reef Unravels 700-Million-Year-Old Mystery of Evolution

Nov 17, 2020 by News Staff

Humans, mice, zebrafish, and most likely other animals, share enhancers — DNA regions that help to regulate gene expression and evolve rapidly —...

$The Zoonomia Project brings the fraction of eutherian mammal families that are represented by at least one assembly to 83%. This image shows the brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus) in the Cahuita National Park, Costa Rica. Image credit: Christian Mehlführer / CC BY 2.5.$

Scientists Sequence Genomes of 131 Placental Mammal Species

Nov 13, 2020 by News Staff

In a study that has implications to advance medicine and biodiversity conservation, a large international consortium of researchers involved in the Zoonomia...

Feng et al. report a substantial step towards the dense representation of avian phylogenetic and molecular diversity, by analyzing 363 genomes from 92.4% of bird families. Image credit: Jon Fjeldsa / Josefin Stiller / University of Copenhagen.

Researchers Sequence Genomes of 363 Bird Species

Nov 12, 2020 by News Staff

Scientists from the Bird 10,000 Genomes Project have successfully sequenced and analyzed the genomes of a total of 363 bird species from 92.4% (218 out...

Petauroides volans, the southern species of the greater glider. Image credit: Steven Kuiter.

Australia’s Greater Glider is Actually Three Different Species

Nov 9, 2020 by Natali Anderson

The greater glider (Petauroides volans), a large, nocturnal gliding marsupial endemic to Australia, isn’t one species, but rather three distinct ones. Petauroides...

New Study Reveals There Are Four Distinct Species of Gentoo Penguins

Nov 5, 2020 by News Staff

Gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) have previously been recognized to be a single species divided into several subspecies. However, a study led by University...

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

Study: At Least Five Dog Lineages Existed 11,000 Years Ago

Nov 3, 2020 by News Staff

In a new study published in the journal Science, an international team of scientists sequenced the genomes of 27 ancient dogs, some of which lived up to...