Carl Zimmer
With rise of agriculture came big changes in European genome
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. The agricultural revolution was ...
Ancient Alaskan children’s DNA tells story of earliest migration to America
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. In the Proceedings of ...
Elephants’ remarkable longevity hints at mechanisms for cancer resistance
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. In 1977, a University ...
‘Stinky cheeses’ made naturally from molds with genes from other species
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Many cheeses require a ...
Fetal cells stay in mom’s body long after pregnancy
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Recently, a team of ...
Rare disease causing uncontrollable bone growth may soon have cure
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva is ...
Paleo diet update: Carbs in tubers key to humans’ evolutionary boon
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Scientists have long recognized ...
Ancient Kennewick man Native American, not European, DNA shows
In July 1996, two college students were wading in the shallows of the Columbia River near the town of Kennewick, ...
Modern Europeans descended from mingling of distinct migratory groups
Two teams of scientists — one based at the University of Copenhagen and one based at Harvard University — have ...
New fossil evidence reignites debate on pace of human evolution
For scientists who study human evolution, the last few months have been a whirlwind. Every couple of weeks, it seems, ...
Why we should stop talking about gene editing in terms of dystopian sci fi
Recently, I went on the NPR show “On Point” to talk about using CRISPR to edit embryos. Towards the end of ...
So-called endogenous retroviruses could guide embryonic development, defend young cells from virus infections
Our genomes are riddled with the detritus of ancient viruses. They infected our hominid ancestors tens of millions of years ...
Chinese scientists ‘edit’ DNA in human embryo
Chinese researchers reported that they edited the genes of human embryos using a new technique called CRISPR. While these embryos will ...
How human-like apes spurred theory of evolution
In 1838, orangutans were still frighteningly unfamiliar to Europeans. In fact, all the great apes were a mystery because they lived thousands ...
In Iceland, treasure chest of genetic information may help find cures
Scientists in Iceland have produced an unprecedented snapshot of a nation’s genetic makeup, discovering a host of previously unknown gene ...
‘Great Indoors’: Your home is a jungle of tiny animal lodgers
When humans began building shelters about 20,000 years ago, we unrolled a welcome mat for other species. Over the past ...
How natural poison drove evolution of South American community
The Atacama Desert straddles the Andes Mountains, reaching into parts of Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. Little rain falls on ...
Gene transfer therapy could replace vaccines, treat HIV
A team of scientists has announced what could prove to be an enormous step forward in the fight against H.I.V ...
How much of our DNA is junk?
The human genome contains around 20,000 genes, that is, the stretches of DNA that encode proteins. But these genes account ...
Natural aptitude for math emerges early in life
Scientists have found that we may actually be born with a deep instinct for numbers. And a new study suggests ...
Airborne form of Ebola a realistic possibility?
Back in September, when the West African Ebola outbreak was getting worse with every passing week, a lot of people ...
Why do East Asians have 20% more Neanderthal DNA than Europeans?
In 2010, scientists made a startling discovery about our past: About 50,000 years ago, Neanderthals interbred with the ancestors of ...
How do viruses become contagious?
Here are two recent stories about viruses. They started out alike, and ended up very differently. In October, a woman ...
Bedbugs’ evolution is bad news for everyone, except scientists
In the closing sentence of “The Origin of Species,” Charles Darwin marvels at the process of evolution, observing how “from ...
How viruses insert themselves into our DNA
Each year, billions of people get infected with viruses–with common ones like influenza and cold viruses, and rarer ones like ...
Why ‘unnatural’ life probably doesn’t deserve the reputation of Frankenstein
In the standard Frankenstein story, a scientist creates an unnatural monster that breaks out of the lab and runs amok ...
What if your microbiome turns against you?
It’s an ugly fact of life that getting old means getting infections. Old people get attacked more by pathogens, and ...
Study reveals clues as to why the common cold virus is so effective
If there is a champion among contagions, it may well be the lowly rhinovirus, responsible for many of the coughs ...
