Genetics

This scrotal male certainly isn't sheepish.

The Earliest Mammals Kept Their Cool With Descended Testicles

But if free-swinging sperm sacs are the norm, then why did undescended ones evolve four separate times?

Genetic revelations are shifting the story of the Cuban crocodile and raising questions about the right way to conserve it.

The Quest to Preserve the Last of Castro's Crocodiles

Breeders are trying to save a 'pure' Cuban crocodile—but out in the wild, divisions between species are increasingly murky

The first insect found trapped in ancient amber wasn’t a mosquito, but an overstuffed weevil.

Jurassic Park's Unlikely Symbiosis With Real-World Science

The 1993 film showed both the promise and misconceptions that surround ancient DNA

We now know that velociraptors were closer to dog-sized than horse-sized, meaning full-grown Blue should be closer to these dimensions. Also: FEATHERS.

Five Ways Real Science Would Make the New <i>Jurassic World</i> So Much Better

It appears that <i>Fallen Kingdom</i> has not evolved alongside 21st century research

Grape breeding PhD student Laise Moreira collects flower tissue for analyzing sex trait in grapevine as part of the VitisGen2 project at the University of Minnesota Horticultural Research Center in Excelsior, MN.

The Quest to Grow the First Great American Wine Grape

Genetics might be the key to creating vineyards that both resist disease and don’t taste like skunk

Most Parents Want to Test Their Unborn Kids' Genes For Disease Risk

Despite the fact that they might not like what they learn

The science of DNA facial reconstruction is advancing rapidly.

How Accurately Can Scientists Reconstruct A Person's Face From DNA?

Predicting physical features from genetic data certainly has its limitations, but it is advancing. What does this mean for our privacy?

A screenshot from the NIH's renamed "All of Us" initiative, which aims to gather genetic data from more than a million Americans to improve health care.

The DNA Data We Have Is Too White. Scientists Want to Fix That

In an era of personalized medicine, not including minorities in genetic studies has real-world health impacts

The Tsimshian people first settled American land over 6,000 years ago. This image was captured in 1890, after the fateful arrival of European settlers.

Unraveling the Genetic History of a First Nations People

By looking at the DNA of Tsimshian people before and after European contact, researchers paint a more nuanced history

Creating a phylogeny of all bird life will help researchers map birds' evolutionary relationships and create conservation plans.

What We Can Learn From a New Bird Tree of Life

Sequencing the DNA of more than 10,000 birds could reveal how best to conserve our feathery friends—and when they evolved from dinosaurs

Immune system natural killer cell

Human Cell Atlas Releases First Major Data Set

The information includes data from over half a million immune cells from human cord blood and bone marrow

A flock of beluga whales in the Sea of Japan, off the coast of Russia.

How Culture Guides Belugas' Annual Odysseys Across the Arctic

Strong, multi-generational ties help the cetaceans make the same migrations year after year

The body-shaped sarcophagi of Karajía contained the remains of high-ranking Chachapoya ancestors.

When Genetics and Linguistics Challenge the Winners’ Version of History

New research shows that indigenous Peruvians were more resilient than the conquering Inca gave them credit for

Researchers have analyzed the DNA of this mummified specimen from Atacama region of Chile.

Researchers Solve the Mystery of the Atacama 'Alien' Mummy

The unusual skeleton sparked rampant speculation, but DNA is helping scientists tease apart the true tale

Gene editing, which uses "molecular scissors" to cut and replace pieces of DNA, could be key for curing herpes.

Can We Gene-Edit Herpes Away?

Because the virus hides out deep in our bodies and stays there for life, a vaccine has eluded scientists for decades. But there may be another way

1000 embryos and 123 surrogate dogs were required to make the first pair of cloned dogs, in 2005. Last month, Barbra Streisand revealed that her two dogs, Miss Violet and Miss Scarlett, were clones of her late Coton de Tulear Samantha.

The Real Reasons You Shouldn't Clone Your Dog

It’s easy to understand why someone would want to. It's harder to justify the actual cloning process, both ethically and scientifically

Periplaneta Americana

Cockroach Genome Shows Why They Are Impossible to Kill

The massive genome includes code for neutralizing toxins, regrowing limbs and a thousand genes for detecting food and chemicals

For all their flaws, lab mice have become an invaluable research model for genetics, medicine, neuroscience and more. But few people know the story of the first standardized lab mice.

The History of Breeding Mice for Science Begins With a Woman in a Barn

Far more than a mouse fancier, Abbie Lathrop helped establish the standard mouse model and pioneered research into cancer inheritance

Most of the differences in human empathy is not genetic, but a new study finds that about 10 percent of individual differences in empathy are due to genetics.

If You’re Empathetic, It Might Be Genetic

A new study found that 10 percent of differences in humans’ ability to empathize can be attributed to genetic variations

The massive family tree includes 13 million people

This May Be the World’s Largest Family Tree

Using more than 86 million profiles from Geni.com, researchers created a database that links 13 million people

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