Genetics News | Sci.News

Aurochs (Bos primigenius) in a cave painting in Lascaux, France. Image credit: Prof Saxx / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Scientists Sequence Genome of Extinct Eurasian Wild Aurochs

Oct 26, 2015 by News Staff

A multinational team of researchers has sequenced the nuclear genome of the aurochs (Bos primigenius), an extinct species of ox that inhabited Europe,...

Scientists analyzed DNA from ancient dog remains from more than a dozen sites in North and South America. This illustration shows a Canadian Eskimo Dog by John James Audubon and John Bachman (1845-1848).

DNA Study Suggests First Dogs Were Domesticated in Central Asia

Oct 20, 2015 by News Staff

The first dogs were domesticated about 15,000 years ago in Central Asia, perhaps near present-day Nepal and Mongolia, suggests a genetic study published...

The new study suggests a link between the genes that increase a person’s height and those that produce a reduced body weight. Image credit: Art Comments / CC BY 2.0.

Researchers Say Slimness and Tallness May Be Genetically Linked

Sep 29, 2015 by News Staff

If you’re tall, you’re also more likely to be slim, according to a team of scientists led by the University of Queensland. The new study suggests a...

Black rice in Haikou, Hainan, China. Image credit: Anna Frodesiak.

Genetic Researchers Solve Mystery of Black Rice

Sep 28, 2015 by News Staff

A genome-wide analysis of 21 black rice varieties as well as red- and white-grained landraces demonstrated that black rice arose in a rice subspecies called...

Przewalski’s horses (Equus ferus ssp. przewalskii) in Askania Nova, a biosphere reserve located in Ukraine. Image credit: 2B Patchett / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Scientists Compare Genomes of Domestic and Przewalski’s Horses

Sep 25, 2015 by News Staff

Scientists have produced the first comparison of DNA sequences between Przewalski’s horse and the domestic horse. Przewalski’s horses (Equus ferus...

The California two-spot octopus (Octopus bimaculoides). Image credit: Michael LaBarbera.

Scientists Sequence Genome of California Two-Spot Octopus

Aug 13, 2015 by News Staff

An international team of genetic researchers from Japan and the United States has sequenced and analyzed the genome of the common California two-spot octopus...

When the scientists silenced the ‘obesity gene’ in mice, it resulted in a 50% reduction in the amount of white fat. Image credit: Gareth Lim.

Researchers Discover Possible Obesity Gene

Aug 11, 2015 by News Staff

An international team of scientists, led by Dr Gareth Lim and Dr James Johnson from the University of British Columbia, has discovered a gene that could...

Essential parts of the polar bear Y chromosome have been decoded for the first time. Image credit: Axel Janke.

Genetic Researchers Decipher Essential Parts of Polar Bear Y Chromosome

Jul 28, 2015 by News Staff

A team of scientists at the Senckenberg Research Center for Biodiversity and Climate in Frankfurt, Germany, has reconstructed large parts of the male chromosome...

The North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli). Image credit: J. G. Keulemans.

Researchers Sequence Kiwi Genome

Jul 23, 2015 by News Staff

An international group of scientists led by the University of Leipzig, Germany, has sequenced the genome of the North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli)...

The Korean melon (Cucumis melo L. var. makuwa). Image credit: D. Hutchman / CC BY 2.0.

New Study Reveals Genomic Architecture of Melon Genome

Jul 15, 2015 by News Staff

A team of genetic researchers from Italy and Spain has completed the first comprehensive analysis of the genomes of seven melon varieties. The Korean melon...

This is an artist’s rendition of a woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius). Image credit: Flying Puffin / CC BY-SA 2.0.

New Study Sheds Light on Evolutionary Biology of Woolly Mammoths

Jul 3, 2015 by News Staff

A new study led by Dr Vincent Lynch from the University of Chicago has identified extensive genetic changes responsible for what makes a woolly mammoth...

The Vitruvian Man, a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci around 1490.

New Genetic Research Suggests Humans Evolved To Be Smarter, Taller

Jul 2, 2015 by News Staff

Those who are born to parents from diverse genetic backgrounds tend to be faster-thinking and taller than others, a new study led by Dr Peter Joshi of...

Corals along the Northern part of the Great Barrier Reef. Image credit: Line K Bay / Australian Institute of Marine Science.

Some Corals Have Heat-Tolerant Genes, New Study Shows

Jun 26, 2015 by News Staff

Some reef-building corals have genetic variants necessary to tolerate warm waters, according to a new study co-led by Dr Line Bay from the Australian Institute...

Denisovans were probably dark-skinned, unlike the pale Neandertals. The picture shows a Neanderthal man. Image credit: Mauro Cutrona.

DNA Evidence Shows Early Humans Mated with Neanderthals in Europe

Jun 23, 2015 by News Staff

Genetic analysis of the mandible of an anatomically modern Homo sapiens who lived in what is now Romania between 42,000 and 37,000 years ago reveals that...

Female medaka lacking foxl3 genes shows standard female body shape. In the ovaries of foxl3 mutant female medaka, a large number of sperm and a small number of eggs are formed. Image credit: National Institute for Basic Biology.

Scientists Identify Gene that Determines Germ Cell Fate

Jun 12, 2015 by News Staff

A new study, led by Prof Minoru Tanaka of the National Institute for Basic Biology in Okazaki, Japan, shows that the foxl3 gene, which is expressed in...

Genetic information from Ethiopians and Egyptians point to a Northern exit out of Africa as the most likely route by the ancestors of all Eurasians. Image credit: Luca Pagani.

Humans Migrated North from Cradle of Humankind, Study Suggests

May 29, 2015 by News Staff

A new genomic analysis of people currently living in Egypt and Ethiopia suggests that Eurasians originated when early Africans moved north – through...

Arabidopsis thaliana by Johann Georg Sturm, 1796.

Scientists Identify Universal Gene Required for Plant Growth at High Temperatures

May 25, 2015 by News Staff

A team of scientists, co-led by Dr Carlos Alonso-Blanco of the Centro Nacional de Biotecnología in Spain and Dr Sureshkumar Balasubramanian of Monash...

Grey wolves. Image credit: Mr T HK / CC BY 2.0.

Ancestors of Modern Dogs, Wolves Split at least 27,000 Years Ago

May 22, 2015 by News Staff

A team of scientists from the Swedish Museum of Natural History and elsewhere sequenced and analyzed the draft genome of a 35,000-year-old wolf from the...

The buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris). Image credit: Simon Koopmann / CC BY-SA 2.0 DE.

Scientists Sequence Genomes of Two Bumblebee Species

Apr 24, 2015 by News Staff

Genetic researchers have sequenced and analyzed the complete genomes of two key bumblebee species – the European buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)...