DNA

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Scientists Find Way to Distinguish Twins' DNA

Researchers may have just made prosecutors' lives easier

(Newser) - Identical twins share an identical DNA profile, and when you're an investigator examining DNA evidence, that can be a problem. The cases may be rare, but they exist, legal expert Jennifer Mnookin told the New York Times last year amid a rape case involving a suspect with a twin:...

In a Risky First, Scientists Edit Human Embryos' DNA

Experiment in China has limited success, raises host of ethical issues

(Newser) - Advances in DNA research are fairly common these days, but a new study out of China seems to qualify for bombshell status: Scientists there edited the genes of human embryos for the first time, reports Nature . This gets into controversial and "ethically charged" territory, notes the MIT Technology Review ...

Scientists Find Oldest Neanderthal DNA

It could offer new insights into prehistoric life

(Newser) - About 150,000 years ago, an individual wandered into a cave, fell into a well, and never came back up. Thanks to that accident, scientists have their hands on the oldest Neanderthal DNA in existence, reports Phys.org . The skeleton known as Altamura Man was found in a cave in...

Europeans&#39; White Skin Came Later Than Thought
 Europeans' White Skin
Came Later Than Thought
study says
Apr 7, 2015 5:45 PM CDT

Europeans' White Skin Came Later Than Thought

Study suggests trait emerged about 8K years ago

(Newser) - Science notes that Europe is often thought of as the "ancestral home of white people." But a new DNA study suggests that pale skin and other traits we associate with the continent may have emerged only within the last 8,000 years—a "relatively recent" occurrence....

DNA Poop Tests Find 'Lazy' Dog Owners

BioPet Vet Lab says 1K places have used its service

(Newser) - Frustrated with dog owners who refuse to clean up after their pets, an increasing number of apartments in Seattle are opting to use DNA testing to identify the culprits. The Seattle Times reports that a company called BioPet Vet Lab from Knoxville, Tennessee, is providing its PooPrints testing kits to...

Darwin's 'Strange Animals' Puzzle Solved

Protein-sequencing method could lead to other discoveries

(Newser) - A humpless, snouted camel? Check. A rhino with the teeth of a rodent and head of a hippo? No problem, scientists say, after apparently figuring out, finally, where these mystery creatures sit on the mammalian family tree, Nature reports. Charles Darwin discovered fossils of these ancient creatures while visiting South...

Scientists: Let's Halt Gene-Editing in Humans

Ethical, safety concerns surround Crispr-Cas9 technique

(Newser) - A breakthrough gene-editing process developed in 2012 could potentially be used to eradicate genetic diseases in humans—or make a person more intelligent or attractive. The Crispr-Cas9 or "DNA scissors" technique involves making DNA-altering changes to sperm, eggs, or embryos that could then be inherited by future generations. For...

Fascist's DNA Rebuilt From 'Love Hanky'

Gabriele d’Annunzio's DNA reconstructed in scientific first

(Newser) - Want to revive the DNA of a protofascist warrior poet? Just gather the man's semen from an old hanky gifted to a girlfriend and voila, you have the first DNA reconstructed without exhuming human remains. At least that's what forensic experts did in Italy with Gabriele d’Annunzio,...

How Slave Skeletons Were Finally Traced to Their Home

Tiny bits of DNA extracted from tooth roots helped identify 3 slaves

(Newser) - Though upward of 12 million Africans were enslaved and shipped to the Americas between 1500 and 1850, tracing their roots back home has been famously difficult—with poor record-keeping and poorly-preserved DNA samples partly to blame. Now researchers from Stanford University and the University of Copenhagen report in the Proceedings ...

NY Subway Has Bubonic Plague



 NY Subway Has 
 Bubonic Plague 
study says
Feb 8, 2015 4:30 PM CST

NY Subway Has Bubonic Plague

Study maps DNA of New York City storied subway system

(Newser) - Like riding the subway in New York? You're not alone: so do countless bacteria including bubonic plague, anthrax, and E. coli, the Wall Street Journal reports. A new study maps out the subway system's DNA, revealing an underground world packed with microbial diversity. "People don’t look...

4 Retailers Selling Misleading Herbal Supplements: NY AG

GNC, Walmart, Target, Walgreen accused of hawking possibly dangerous products

(Newser) - Consumers who've been popping herbal supplements may want to take note after the New York State attorney general announced yesterday that four retail giants are selling herbal items that may be mislabeled, crammed with fillers, and potentially dangerous, the Guardian reports. Eric Schneiderman sent cease-and-desist letters to Walmart, GNC,...

Next in GMO: Mosquitoes?
 Next in GMO: Mosquitoes? 
Jan 25, 2015 1:03 PM CST

Next in GMO: Mosquitoes?

FDA is reviewing whether to unleash them in Florida Keys

(Newser) - No word on whether "annoying buzzing" can be genetically eliminated, but the FDA is looking at whether it will allow genetically modified mosquitoes to be unleashed in the Florida Keys, in the name of stopping the spread of Dengue and chikungunya viruses. As the AP reports, British researchers have...

How Rapists Who Wear Condoms Could Be Caught
How Rapists Who Wear Condoms Could Be Caught
new study
Dec 17, 2014 8:39 AM CST

How Rapists Who Wear Condoms Could Be Caught

Bacterial profiles of pubic hair so unique they could identify perpetrators

(Newser) - Investigators routinely analyze pubic hairs found at crime scenes where rape is suspected, but it's rare that the hair has its root, and thus sufficient DNA to identify its former owner. Now researchers say that bacterial colonies on pubic hairs appear to be so unique to an individual that...

James Watson's DNA Nobel Sells for $4.1M

$4.8M if you count the premium paid to Christie's

(Newser) - James Watson will collect $4.1 million for the Nobel medal he received in 1962 for unraveling the structure of DNA. The anonymous buyer will actually have to shell out $4.8 million counting the premium that goes to Christie's auction house, reports the New York Times . The newspaper...

Ostracized DNA Pioneer Is Hawking His Nobel Prize

DNA co-discoverer James Watson says he's become a pariah, needs the cash

(Newser) - One of the scientists who helped unfold the structure of DNA is putting his Nobel Prize on the auction block, and James Watson says it's because he's broke after being ostracized by the academic community over racist remarks he made seven years ago, the Atlantic reports. "No...

Scientists Link 2 Genes to Violent Behavior

Criminals in Finland more likely to have mutated versions

(Newser) - A new study might be inching us closer to the possibility that the worst criminals can blame their behavior on bad genes. In the study of 900 convicts in Finland, researchers found that those with mutated forms of two genes were 13 times more likely to have a history of...

Moms' Stress in Ice Storm Shows Up in Kids' DNA

Effects seen in aftermath of huge storm in Canada in 1998

(Newser) - Just how bad was an epic 1998 ice storm in Canada? You can read all about it in the DNA of kids who were born around that time. An intriguing study in PLoS One finds that women who were especially stressed during the storm gave birth to kids whose immune...

How Your DNA Affects Your Coffee Craving

8 genes found to be at work

(Newser) - Whether you drink a cup or a pot of coffee per day depends in part on your DNA, as scientists have previously shown. Now, however, a research team has gone further, naming eight specific genes—six of them newly identified—that play a role in your coffee intake, the AP...

Suspects Re-Enact Brutal Thai Murders

Cops say 2 have confessed to killing Hannah Witheridge, David Miller

(Newser) - Thai police say DNA evidence is a match for two Burmese men who've confessed to killing two British tourists . Sporting helmets and handcuffs, the suspects today re-enacted the crime—a typical practice used by Thai law enforcement—on the Koh Tao island beach where the murders were committed last...

Thailand Stumped as DNA Clears 12 in Tourist Slayings

Cops 'really don't know where to look now'

(Newser) - DNA tests have thrown Thai authorities a goose egg in their quest to solve the savage murders of two British tourists. Semen from two different men was found on the body of 23-year-old Hannah Witheridge, reports the BBC , but analysis revealed that while both sets matched DNA pulled from a...

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