DNA

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Dad Learns That Unborn Twin 'Fathered' His Son

Parents were concerned when son had a different blood type

(Newser) - Sorry sir, you're not the father of your newborn child—your unborn brother is. So a 34-year-old man was told in the only known case of a paternity test being tricked by a so-called "human chimera," the Independent reports. It began when a US couple learned that...

Secret to Longevity? Deleting Certain Genes
Secret to Longevity?
Deleting Certain Genes
NEW STUDY
Oct 14, 2015 7:49 AM CDT

Secret to Longevity? Deleting Certain Genes

Scientists discover 238 genes linked to aging

(Newser) - Ten years into research they call "exhaustive," scientists at the University of Washington and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging are reporting in the journal Cell Metabolism that they've isolated 238 genes linked to aging in yeast cells. After working with undergrads to painstakingly delete a...

Ancestry.com Wants to Reveal Your Disease Risks

So far, the FDA isn't having it

(Newser) - The company that tells you whether you can perhaps blame last weekend's sunburn on your Irish roots now wants to tell you your risk of cervical cancer. Ancestry.com, which claims to have amassed genetic information on more than 1 million customers through its $99 DNA kits, is in...

Test Can Detect Every Virus to Afflict Humans, Animals

Even uncommon viruses and ones present in low levels: scientists

(Newser) - A new test developed by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis may prove an invaluable aid to doctors who can't figure out what's wrong with their patients. The test, described in a study in the Genome Research journal, is able to detect, all at...

How a Lost US Airman Might Come Home, 71 Years Later

Tom McCaslin's plane crashed in France in 1944

(Newser) - Tom McCaslin's family still hopes he'll come home, 71 years after his B-26 bomber crashed in a field in France. "I think everybody in the family would feel better," says his brother, Joseph McCaslin, one of four surviving siblings who've longed for his return. Now...

We Still Have No Idea Who 30 Katrina Victims Are

Money allocated by FEMA to help identify bodies has dried up

(Newser) - Cleaning up after a massive hurricane is a difficult affair, but a decade after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and claimed what Live Science reports is an estimated 1,833 lives, 30 bodies have yet to be identified. WWL-TV arrived at that number after making a public records request to...

Tongue-Rolling Myth Totally 'Debunked'

Biologist John McDonald aims to set the record straight

(Newser) - For anyone who can still proudly recall one factoid learned in high school biology—that the ability to roll one's tongue is genetic—bad news: You learned it wrong. John McDonald, an evolutionary biologist, is out to debunk what he calls a myth about the genetic roots of tongue-rolling,...

Causes of Cerebral Palsy Not What We Thought

Canadian study looks at the DNA of stricken children

(Newser) - Parents of children with cerebral palsy, take note: Your child's illness may be in the genes. A surprising new study in Nature is linking cerebral palsy to genetic variants and challenging the notion that environmental factors are solely responsible, the Globe & Mail reports. "Nobody really wanted us...

Study: 'Golden Wolf' Has Been Hiding in Plain Sight

We just thought it was the African golden jackal

(Newser) - Africa, home to the Ethiopian wolf and the gray wolf, can now lay claim to the African golden wolf—the first new species of canid (which also encompasses jackals, foxes, and coyotes) to be discovered in 150 years, reports National Geographic . The new species has long been misunderstood to be...

&#39;Kennewick Man&#39; Mystery Over: He&#39;s Native American
'Kennewick Man' Mystery Over: He's Native American
study says
Jun 18, 2015 3:38 PM CDT

'Kennewick Man' Mystery Over: He's Native American

Finding might lead to his burial

(Newser) - Kennewick Man is not only "one of the most important human skeletons ever found in North America," in the words of the Guardian , it's also one of the most controversial. Now a new DNA study might—but only might—bring finality to the debate over the "...

In 'Crap' Dinosaur Fossils, Scientists Strike Gold

If 75M-year-old soft tissue has survived, could DNA, too?

(Newser) - The fossils may be in such poor shape that scientists are calling them "crap," but the 75-million-year-old fragments are golden in another sense. A theropod claw, triceratops-like toe bone, and duck-billed dinosaur limb and ankle bones first unearthed in Canada 100 years ago appear to retain soft tissue,...

Florida Fish Have Babies by 'Virgin Birth'

Smalltooth sawfish stun scientists with offspring

(Newser) - Looks like female sawfish don't need the guys so much anymore. Scientists have discovered seven examples in Florida of virgin-birth offspring by smalltooth sawfish, an endangered species whose members grow up to 25 feet in length and have long snouts studded with teeth, LiveScience reports. Their offspring may provide...

Mom Reunited With Teen Daughter Missing for 8 Years

Another teen was released kicking and screaming to Dorotea Garcia last month

(Newser) - A Mexican prosecutor says DNA tests on Alondra Diaz match the US mother who has been searching for her for eight years. Jose Martin Godoy Castro said late yesterday that tests show Alondra is the daughter of Houston woman Dorotea Garcia, who has searched for the girl since Alondra's...

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...

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