DNA

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East Coast Rape Suspect to Cops: What Took So Long?

Investigation may have found 12-time serial rapist

(Newser) - When cops arrested Aaron Thomas and charged him with being the infamous East Coast Rapist, the 39-year-old unemployed truck driver apparently had one question: "What took you so long to get me?" A prosecutor says Thomas has admitted his “involvement in numerous, alleged rapes,” while in custody....

Is Amelia Earhart's Saliva the Key to Her Whereabouts?

DNA from old letters could be compared to found bone

(Newser) - Last year, researchers may have found one of Amelia Earhart’s bones —and this year, another group might be able to match that bone to Earhart, using, of all things, the missing aviator’s spit. Scientists will attempt to harvest DNA from the saliva found on four letters Earhart...

DNA Could Reveal Whether John Wilkes Booth Escaped

Descendants say he took new name, committed suicide in 1903

(Newser) - DNA evidence could settle once and for all the truth about what transpired in the days after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. The official story is that John Wilkes Booth was killed in a barn days after shooting the president—but his descendants say the dead man was just a lookalike....

Researchers Create Mice With 2 Daddies

No one's entirely sure why

(Newser) - Scientists at the University of Texas have managed to create mice from the genetic material of two males. A female mouse was involved, of course—researchers engineered one whose eggs contained only DNA from a male, then mated her with another male—but genetically the mice have two fathers. Scientists...

Being a Good Gambler Is Genetic: Study

'Warrior Genes' makes you make better, riskier decisions

(Newser) - If you’re good at poker, you may have your DNA to thank for it. A new study published today found that people with MAOA-L, the so-called “warrior gene,” were both more likely to take risks, and more likely to be able to identify advantageous gambles. Past studies...

Can't Stay Faithful? Blame Your DNA

Doctors link gene to uncommitted sex

(Newser) - Have a tendency to cheat or sleep around? It may not be your fault. A new study shows that people with a particular version of the dopamine receptor gene DRD4 are more likely to be unfaithful or have one-night stands, LiveScience reports. The same gene has already been linked to...

Hitler Was Jewish, DNA Test Reveals

Also, partly African

(Newser) - Adolf Hitler probably never had a bar mitzvah or anything, but a series of new DNA tests indicate that he had Jewish and even African ancestors. A journalist and a historian tracked down 39 relatives of the Fuhrer and performed DNA tests on them. They found a common chromosome among...

Cops Narrowly Missed 'Grim Sleeper' Twice

Missed chance on DNA, staked out wrong house,

(Newser) - The alleged serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper could have been stopped two years earlier if the police had collected his DNA. Lonnie David Franklin should have been added to a DNA database under a 2004 law called Proposition 69, finds the LA Times . He wasn't—apparently because it...

Iceland Exhumes Bobby Fischer in Paternity Claim

DNA will settle woman's claim he fathered 9-year-old Jinky Young

(Newser) - Authorities in Iceland have exhumed the body of American chess champion Bobby Fischer to determine whether he is the father of a 9-year-old girl from the Philippines. A police commissioner said Fischer's corpse was dug up "in a professional and dignified way and according to law. The privacy of...

Iceland to Dig Up Bobby Fischer's Body

Court orders it exhumed for DNA testing

(Newser) - Iceland’s Supreme Court has ordered Bobby Fischer’s body exhumed for DNA testing that could help resolve the stalemate over the weird chess legend’s estate. The testing should determine whether he was really the father of Jinky Young, a 9-year-old Philippines girl, whose mother has laid claim to...

Scientist to Map Ozzy's DNA
 Scientist to Map Ozzy's DNA 
Jun 16, 2010 2:56 PM CDT

Scientist to Map Ozzy's DNA

Geneticists will study rock star as drug abuse test case

(Newser) - Scientists looking to analyze how recreational drugs are absorbed into the body have found the ideal subject: Ozzy Osbourne. Taking advantage of the fact that Ozzy abused drugs and alcohol for years, the US-based genetics company Knome is mapping the rocker's full genome, CBS News reports. "Sequencing and analyzing...

Berkeley to Freshmen: Want a DNA Test?

They'll see how their genes deal with alcohol

(Newser) - UC Berkeley's incoming freshmen have an unusual option this summer: Students can swab their cheeks and send it in for a DNA test that will check for genes that help metabolize alcohol, lactose, and folates. The school is hoping that genetic information will help students live a healthier lifestyle on...

Drugstores Will Sell Genetic Tests

 Drugstores Will Sell 
 Genetic Tests 
NOT fDA APPROVED
May 11, 2010 10:27 AM CDT

Drugstores Will Sell Genetic Tests

Possibly illegal product reveals risk of disease

(Newser) - Soon, you may be able to pick up a genetic testing kit at your local drugstore. A San Diego company has made a deal to sell its new Insight test at Walgreens locations across the country, promising consumers a look at their risk for Alzheimer's, breast cancer, diabetes, and more....

New Idea for Healthy Babies: Three Parents

It could be possible in 3 years

(Newser) - UK researchers have grown embryos that combine the DNA of one man and two women, a development that could help babies avoid genetic defects. In broad strokes, it works like this: Parents at risk of passing on a genetic disorder fertilize an egg, and the healthy material is extracted and...

Chinese Hunters Capture 'Yeti'
 Chinese Hunters Capture 'Yeti' 
Apr 6, 2010 4:05 AM CDT

Chinese Hunters Capture 'Yeti'

The bizarre, hairless creature is being studied by scientists

(Newser) - A bizarre hairless creature dubbed a "yeti" and captured by hunters in China's Sichuan province is being studied by scientists. "It looks a bit like a bear but it doesn't have any fur and it has a tail like a kangaroo," said one of the hunters. "...

Kitties Fight Crime With DNA
 Kitties Fight Crime With DNA 
Mar 22, 2010 4:50 PM CDT

Kitties Fight Crime With DNA

Ubiquitous cat hair a valuable forensic tool

(Newser) - Dog is man's best friend, but cats can fight crime. Thanks to their tendency to groom and shed, household cats carpet a home—and anyone who sets foot in it—with DNA evidence. Kitty forensics have already led to one murder conviction after hair from a victim's cat was found...

Jewish 'Lost Tribe' Found in Africa

Ark of the Covenant may have been in Zimbabwe all along

(Newser) - An African tribe's claim to be descended from Jews who fled the Holy Land 2,500 years ago has been backed up by DNA testing. The Lemba, who live in South Africa and Zimbabwe, are largely Christian or Muslim, but they practice many Jewish traditions, including wearing skullcaps, eschewing pork,...

Study Casts Doubt On DNA-Matching Technique

Mitochondrial DNA found to vary widely within individuals

(Newser) - A DNA-matching technique used in forensics since the mid-1990s is now in question, according to new research. DNA found in cell structures called mitochondria varies greatly between samples from different tissues from the same individual, researchers found, meaning that forensic units may be mistaken when they exclude suspects because a...

Divers Search SoCal Lake for Missing Teen

Mom: Cops find underwear belonging to Chelsea King, 17

(Newser) - Divers are searching a lake north of San Diego after the underwear of missing teen Chelsea King was found there. King, 17, hasn’t been seen since she went out for a run Thursday. A police source tells KTLA-TV that DNA on the underwear—a detail confirmed by King’s...

Sperm Donors Lose Anonymity to DNA Tests

Mothers increasingly able to track down kids' biological fathers

(Newser) - The overwhelming majority of men who donate sperm choose to do so anonymously, but DNA testing is making that decision increasingly meaningless. These days it takes only a little bit of sleuthing for a mother to find her child’s biological father, Slate reports, telling the story of one mother...

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