Breast cancer: DNA repair genes may be linked to racial disparity in mortality

Differences in how DNA repair genes are expressed as a result of environmental impacts may help to explain why Black women in the US have a higher mortality from breast cancer than white women Health 9 February 2022 By Jason Arunn Murugesu Expression of DNA repair genes in some Black women may be linked to … Read more

DNA Shed by Deep-Sea Organisms Reveals a Dark Abyss Teeming With Tiny Life Forms

Sweeping the ocean floor at hundreds of points throughout the world, researchers have revealed an astonishing diversity of microscopic life thriving in the deepest and darkest parts of our planet.   The sediment collected at each spot was analyzed for environmental DNA (eDNA), which marine animals shed as they go about their lives. While sea … Read more

Junk DNA Deforms Salamander Bodies

The Neuse River waterdog lives a sluggish existence, as if burdened by an invisible weight. This mottled brown salamander, about as long as a human hand, rarely strays far from its concealed burrows beneath rocks or logs in the rivers of North Carolina. It “hunts” by sitting still in the riverbed, waiting for an insect … Read more

Wolves Already Had The Genetic Mutation to Turn Into Tiny Dogs 54,000 Years Ago

One of the main genetic mutations responsible for small size in certain dog breeds, such as Pomeranians and Chihuahuas, evolved in dog relatives long before humans began breeding these miniature companions. Researchers discovered that the mutation can even be traced back to wolves that lived more than 50,000 years ago.   Researchers discovered the mutation, which is found in … Read more

Huge Project Is Now Underway to Sequence The Genome of Every Complex Species on Earth

The Earth Biogenome Project, a global consortium that aims to sequence the genomes of all complex life on earth (some 1.8 million described species) in ten years, is ramping up.   The project’s origins, aims and progress are detailed in two multi-authored papers published today. Once complete, it will forever change the way biological research … Read more

Archeology: Hybrid animal in 4500-year-old tomb is earliest known bred by humans

Early Bronze Age people in Syria crossed donkeys with wild asses to make prized horse-like hybrids, demonstrating advanced understanding of animal breeding Life 14 January 2022 By Alice Klein Equid skeletons from Tell Umm el-Marra, Syria Glenn Schwartz/John Hopkins University The bones of horse-like creatures unearthed in a 4500-year-old royal tomb in Syria are the … Read more

New Evidence Challenges The Idea That Mutations Are Entirely Random

It’s a common misconception that evolution has a sense of direction – a notion that biology nerds around the world are constantly trying to correct. But new research reveals there may be a semblance of truth to this misconception, at least more than we ever realized.   While it’s not as straightforward as mutation with … Read more

Scientists Built The World’s Tiniest Antenna, And It’s Made Out of DNA

Scientists have built the tiniest antenna ever made – just five nanometers in length. Unlike its much larger counterparts we’re all familiar with, this minuscule thing isn’t made to transmit radio waves, but to glean the secrets of ever-changing proteins.   The nanoantenna is made from DNA, the molecules carrying genetic instructions that are around … Read more

Sucking DNA Out of The Sky Could Help Us to Identify And Save Endangered Species

The air around us carries detectable traces of animals living in our midst, scientists have found, and the discovery stands to revolutionize the way researchers monitor and track populations of vulnerable or endangered species.   In two new studies conducted by separate teams of scientists, researchers discovered that environmental DNA (eDNA) shed by living creatures … Read more

Airborne DNA from plants could reveal invasive species, impact of climate change | Science

Inventorying the plants in a tract of woods or fields or searching for invasive species can take days of hot, hard work slogging through thorny brush and tick-infested grass. Now, researchers have shown that simply capturing and analyzing the DNA plants release into the air can work as well as putting boots on the ground—and … Read more