Ancestry & Evolution
The desire to understand our origins is primal. By examining our DNA over successive generations through the evolutionary process of inherited characteristics of human and animal populations–as well as from those species from which humans share a common ancestry–we can decipher our individual and collective past and develop medical innovations for the future.
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Squids show that sometimes, evolution is predictable
A longstanding question among scientists is whether evolution is predictable. A team of researchers from UC Santa Barbara may have ...
US Ebola hysteria and money pit highlight lack of resources to confront diseases that kill far more people
The Ebola hysteria underscores how frenzy rather than need drives government responses and resources. Listeria is a disease that's not ...
Single gene explains lower breast cancer rates in Latina women
An international research collaboration led by UC San Francisco researchers has identified a genetic variant common in Latina women that ...
History of penetrative sex reveals unexpected reversal in evolution
The history of sex may have to be rewritten thanks to a group of unsightly, long-extinct fish called placoderms. A ...
Jack the Ripper’s identity remains a mystery after error in DNA analysis revealed
It was supposed to have been the definitive piece of scientific evidence that finally exposed the true identify of Jack ...
Women carry fetal DNA long after children’s birth
Women and their offspring exchange small amounts of DNA during pregnancy. Those fetal DNA signatures can last a lifetime in ...
How evolution gave rise to zombie ladybugs and mind-controlling wasps
A predator protected from other predators, the ladybug would seem to have the perfect insect life—were it not for wasps ...
In a battle of brains, chimpanzees match human toddlers
Many skills that we consider complex are in fact the result of relatively simple - and often universal - cognitive ...
Closer examination of risk factors for Latinos underscores cultural diversity
Investigations into the genetics of disease in Latino populations are yielding interesting patterns of risk and protection from disease. The ...
Natural Resources Defense Council sues EPA to block rollout of Dow Enlist Duo GMO system
The NRDC filed what is expected to be the first of numerous suits challenging the EPA's approval of Enlist Duo, ...
Surprises abound in our inherited ‘female’ mitochondrial DNA
Since the unexpected discovery that mitochondria contain their own distinct DNA molecules, studies of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have yielded ...
Beyond universal donors, some people are programed with no blood type at all
People genetically coded with the RH-null blood type have a blood type more rare than extremely rare disease. Their numbers ...
Researchers explore mysterious origins of microbes
We love origin stories. When we see successful groups of animals and plants, we wonder where they came from, and ...
Sperm mislabeling causes consternation for all-white family with mixed race child
Sperm is a product, but not a well-regulated one. After receiving donor sperm from an African American donor, a Caucasian ...
Why random walks in evolution lead to the same place–and why biotechnology opponents should take note
A recent study found that evolution is not as random and chaotic as critics of biology like to contend. In ...
Woman’s quest to uncover family history using DNA tests upturns her life
In 2008 the story’s protagonist, 56-year-old Cheryl Whittle from rural Virginia, heard about DNA testing on Oprah. Just for kicks she ...
Evolutionary incubators turn invasive species into ecological nightmares
Invasive species are both a fact of life and a scientific puzzle. Humans transport animals and plants thousands of miles from ...
Dark history of eugenics spotlightlighted in New York University exhibit
An old stucco house stands atop a grassy hill overlooking the Long Island Sound. Less than a mile down the ...
Ancient skeleton’s DNA sequence one step closer to universal ancestor
He died later than Socrates and Aristotle, but a man who fished along the coast of southern Africa is the closest ...
What genes tell us about history, race and ourselves: Christine Kenneally’s new book has hits, misses
Christine Kenneally's "The Invisible History of the Human Race" tracks human migrations and much other genetic and evolutionary lore. It's ...
Biology of eye color illuminates progress in combating eye disease
A commonly held belief among Europeans is that all babies are born with blue eyes, which can then change colour ...
Can’t start the day without a cup of Joe? Zest for coffee linked to genes
The number of cups of coffee you have in a day is informed by your genetics as a combination of ...
Re-enacting history of evolution in the laboratory
In his fourth-floor lab at Harvard University, Michael Desai has created hundreds of identical worlds in order to watch evolution ...
Norman Borlaug, father of the green revolution
In honor of the World Food Prize, which was inspired by his work, being awarded next week in Iowa, Genetic ...
Oldest known cave art holds clues to history of human creativity
Humans are intrinsically artists. Cave paintings and hand-carved figurines found in France, Spain and Italy suggest that Homo sapiens were crafting 35-40 ...
Tall Genes: Thousands found responsible for height differences
There are more 600 of spots on the genome responsible for about a fifth of the variation in human height ...
Africans dangerously underrepresented in gene research
Almost a decade after the first human genome was published, famed anti-apartheid leader Archbishop Desmond Tutu and three African bushmen became the first sub-saharan ...
