Genetics News | Sci.News

Neanderthals consumed plants, too. Image credit: University of Utah via kued.org.

Schizophrenia Emerged after Homo sapiens Diverged from Neanderthals, Researchers Say

Aug 15, 2016 by News Staff

A team of scientists led by Dr. Ole Andreassen of the University of Oslo in Norway and the University of California, San Diego, has found evidence for...

Meiosis: dividing pollen mother cells. Image credit: Josef Reischig / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Researchers Identify Down Syndrome Gene

Aug 10, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of researchers from Singapore and the United Kingdom has identified an enzyme that regulates the production of sperm and egg cells...

Torvosaurus gurneyi. Image credit: © Sergey Krasovskiy.

Dinosaurs Had Bird-Like Color Vision, Gene Discovery Suggests

Aug 3, 2016 by News Staff

According to an international team of scientists led by Dr. Nicholas Mundy at the University of Cambridge, a gene for red color vision that originated...

The team identified 17 new genetic variations linked to depression. Image credit: Patrica J. Joslin.

Researchers Identify 17 Genetic Variations Associated with Depression

Aug 2, 2016 by News Staff

A team of researchers has identified 17 genetic variations associated with depression in individuals of European ancestry. The team identified 17 new genetic...

6,000-year-old plant remains in Yoram Cave; note the excellent dry preservation of reeds, seeds and pellets. Image credit: Martin Mascher et al.

Researchers Sequence Genome of Ancient Barley

Jul 18, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of scientists has obtained and analyzed the genome of five barley grains that date back to the Chalcolithic period, about 6,000 years...

Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

Neanderthals Left Humans Genetic Burden, Scientists Say

Jun 6, 2016 by News Staff

The genome of Neanderthals contained harmful gene variants that made them around 40 percent less reproductively fit than modern humans. And non-Africans...

Man’s best friend may have been domesticated from distinct wolf populations on either side of the Old World. Image credit: Pixel-mixer.

New Study Suggests Dual Origin of Domestic Dogs

Jun 3, 2016 by News Staff

Dogs may have been domesticated independently in Asia and Europe from two separate wolf populations, according to a new study led by the University of...

Ariche, the Carthaginian man. Image credit: M. Rais.

Phoenician ‘Young Man of Byrsa’ Had European Ancestry, DNA Study Finds

May 25, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of scientists from Lebanon, Tunisia, France and New Zealand has sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of the ‘Young Man of...

Image showing variation between nose shape and the specific genes responsible. Image credit: Kaustubh Adhikari / University College London.

Four Nose-Shaping Genes Identified

May 19, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

A multinational team of researchers led by University College London (UCL) has found four genes that impact nose shape. Image showing variation between...

A Masai giraffe in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Image credit: Sajjad F. / CC BY 3.0.

Genome Reveals Clues to Giraffe’s Unique Characteristics

May 18, 2016 by Natali Anderson

An international team of researchers has sequenced the genomes of the giraffe and its closest living relative, the okapi, and — through comparative...

Spatial frequency distribution map of haplogroup R0a. Image credit: Francesca Gandini et al.

Humans Arrived in Southern Arabia Earlier Than Thought

May 11, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of genetic researchers from the United States and Europe has found new evidence that there was an Ice Age refugium in southern Arabia. Spatial...

A common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina). Image credit: Dakota L. / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Researchers Identify Gene for Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination in Snapping Turtles

May 6, 2016 by News Staff

In a paper published in the journal Genetics, scientists from the University of North Dakota and the University of Minnesota present multiple lines of...

Ancient DNA Study Sheds New Light on Genetic History of Europeans

May 3, 2016 by News Staff

Analyses of genome-wide data from 51 Eurasians from 7,000 – 45,000 years ago reveal two big changes in prehistoric human populations that are closely...

The Hispaniolan solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus). Image credit: Solenodon Joe / CC BY 3.0.

Scientists Sequence Mitochondrial Genome of Hispaniolan Solenodon

May 3, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of scientists has completely sequenced the mitochondrial genome of the Hispaniolan solenodon (a venomous, insectivorous mammal that...

Normal anatomy of the human eye and orbit, anterior view. Image credit: Patrick J. Lynch / CC BY 2.5.

Researchers Identify Genetic Cause of Epithelial Recurrent Erosion Dystrophy

Apr 26, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of scientists from New Zealand, Australia and the UK — including Prof. Colin Willoughby from the University of Liverpool —...

The team has found a genetic overlap between happiness and depression. Image credit: Jill Wellington.

Scientists Identify Genes Associated with Happiness and Depression

Apr 25, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

In a large-scale international study, researchers have identified three genetic variants associated with subjective well-being (happiness), two variants...

The medium ground finch (Geospiza fortis) diverged in beak size from the large ground finch (Geospiza magnirostris) on Daphne Major Island, Galápagos following a severe drought. Image credit: Peter R. Grant.

Genomic Analysis of Darwin’s Finches Identifies Gene behind ‘Evolution in Action’

Apr 22, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of researchers from Uppsala University and Princeton University has identified a specific gene that within a year helped spur a permanent...

Reconstruction of the giant, short-faced North American bear Arctodus simus. Image credit: Daniel Reed / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Ancient Mitochondrial DNA Reveals Convergent Evolution of Giant Bears in the Americas

Apr 20, 2016 by Sergio Prostak

A study led by Dr. Kieren Mitchell of the University of Adelaide sheds new light on the evolution of what are believed to be the largest bears that ever...

Ashkenazi Jews of 19th century Eastern Europe portrayed in Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur, by Maurycy Gottlieb, 1878 (from Jewish Art, p. 199).

Yiddish Language was Invented by Slavo-Iranian Jewish Merchants, Scientists Say

Apr 19, 2016 by News Staff

A new tool called the Geographic Population Structure (GPS), which converts DNA data into its ancestral coordinates, has pinpointed origin of Yiddish speakers,...