Genetics News | Sci.News

West Africans Carry DNA from Mysterious Archaic Hominin

Feb 14, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

Four West African populations — Yoruba, Esan, Mende, and Gambian — derive 2 to 19% of their genetic ancestry from a yet-undiscovered species...

Researchers Sequence Genomes of Two Basmati Rice Varieties

Feb 10, 2020 by News Staff

A research team led by New York University scientists has sequenced and analyzed the genomes of two members of the basmati rice group: a variety of basmati...

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

Scientists ‘Resurrect’ Mutated Genes of Wrangel Island Mammoths

Feb 7, 2020 by News Staff

Woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) were among the most abundant cold adapted species during the Pleistocene. Their once large populations went extinct...

Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

Study: African Individuals Carry More Neanderthal DNA than Previously Thought

Jan 31, 2020 by News Staff

Using a novel method for detecting Neanderthal ancestry in modern humans, a team of U.S. researchers has demonstrated that remnants of Neanderthal genomes...

A giant squid, at least 10-12 feet in length, approaches the Medusa’s e-jelly lure before realizing the e-jelly is not food and retreating. Image credit: Edie Widder & Nathan Robinson.

Researchers Sequence Genome of Elusive Giant Squid

Jan 16, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of scientists has sequenced the genome of the giant squid (Architeuthis dux), the species which has inspired generations to tell...

The Indian cobra (Naja naja). Image credit: Kamal N.V. / CC BY 3.0.

Scientists Sequence Genome of Indian Cobra

Jan 10, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of researchers has sequenced the genome of the Indian cobra (Naja naja), a highly venomous, medically important snake. The Indian...

A gene-edited tomato plant. Image credit: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Researchers Use CRISPR to Create Compact Tomato Plants

Dec 26, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of scientists has used the CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing technology to restructure vine-like tomato plants into extremely compact, early...

The blue-petal water lily (Nymphaea colorata) in the Botanischen Garten, Berlin, Germany. Image credit: Rüdiger Kratz / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Water Lily Genome Sheds Light on Early Evolution of Flowering Plants

Dec 19, 2019 by Natali Anderson

An international team of researchers has successfully sequenced and analyzed the genome of the blue-petal water lily (Nymphaea colorata), a plant species...

An artist’s reconstruction of Lola, a woman who chewed the Syltholm birch pitch. Image credit: Tom Björklund.

Researchers Extract and Sequence Human DNA from 5,700-Year-Old ‘Chewing Gum’

Dec 18, 2019 by Sergio Prostak

An international team of scientists has successfully sequenced ancient DNA extracted from a 5,700-year-old piece of chewed birch pitch from southern Denmark....

Woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius). Image credit: Velizar Simeonovski / Field Museum.

DNA-Based ‘Clock’ Predicts Maximum Lifespan in Living and Extinct Vertebrates

Dec 15, 2019 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia, has developed a simple new method for estimating...

Halicephalobus mephisto (magnified 200x). Image credit: John Bracht, American University.

Researchers Sequence Genome of Deep-Living Worm

Nov 22, 2019 by News Staff

A research team led by American University scientists has sequenced the genome of the thermophilic subterrestrial nematode Halicephalobus mephisto, one...

TAS2R38 predicted lower consumption of vegetables in people who possessed the PAV haplotype. Image credit: Jerzy Górecki.

Genetic Variants Play Role in Our Food Choices: Study

Nov 18, 2019 by News Staff

Genetic variants determine whether or not you can tolerate eating certain vegetables, according to new research. TAS2R38 predicted lower consumption of...

Cheng et al report genome sequences and analyses of two early diverging Zygnematophyceae species, Spirogloea muscicola and Mesotaenium endlicherianum, that share the same subaerial/terrestrial habitat with the earliest-diverging embryophytes, the bryophytes. Image credit: Cheng et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.10.019.

Natural Genetic Engineering Allowed Plants to Move from Water to Land

Nov 15, 2019 by News Staff

Horizontal gene transfer from soil bacteria to algae allowed early life to move to land, according to new research. Cheng et al report genome sequences...

Heavy smoking has a damaging effect on facial aging. Image credit: Jui Magicman.

Heavy Smoking Has Causal Effect on Facial Aging

Nov 4, 2019 by News Staff

In a study published in the journal PLoS Genetics, researchers at the University of Bristol searched for the effects of heavy smoking using the UK Biobank...

Ancient humans. Image credit: sjs.org / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Origin of Anatomically Modern Humans Traced to Southern Africa

Oct 29, 2019 by News Staff

The earliest ancestors of anatomically modern Homo sapiens emerged in a region south of the Zambezi River in Botswana, Africa, according to a new analysis...

Diversity within the family Viridiplantae. Image credit: Leebens-Mack et al, doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1693-2.

Researchers Generate Gene Sequences for 1,124 Plant Species, Illuminate One Billion Years of Evolution

Oct 28, 2019 by News Staff

As part of the One Thousand Plant Transcriptomes (1KP) Initiative, an international consortium of scientists has sequenced transcriptomes — the set...

Adaptive Genetic Variants from Archaic Hominins Found in Melanesians

Oct 19, 2019 by News Staff

Modern individuals from the Pacific islands of Melanesia harbor adaptive copy number variants (CNVs) that they inherited from two groups of our evolutionary...

A pair of thylacines, a male and female, c. 1905. Image credit: Smithsonian Institutional Archives / E. J. Keller, National Zoological Park.

Study Sheds New Light on Striking Similarities between Tasmanian Tiger and Wolves

Oct 3, 2019 by News Staff

The Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus), also known as the thylacine, was a carnivorous marsupial found throughout most of Tasmania before European...

Wells et al performed genome-wide association studies for two self-reported hearing phenotypes, using more than 250,000 UK Biobank volunteers aged between 40 and 69 years. Image credit: Pexels.

Researchers Identify 44 Genes Involved in Age-Related Hearing Loss

Sep 27, 2019 by News Staff

A team of scientists from King’s College London, University College London and the University of Manchester has identified 44 genes linked to age-related...