DNA

Elephants, bats, rabbits and other mammals have exceptional hearing—and their outer ears may be a key reason why.

Why Do Mammals Have Outer Ears? Scientists Are Getting Closer to Solving the Mystery

Two new studies offer insights into the evolution and development of external ears, which appear in humans and other mammals but aren't found in reptiles, birds or amphibians

A vast mosaic of cells, some that are identical and some that are slightly different, make up the human body.

Why Is Every Human Being Riddled With Genetic Errors?

Your body is a collection of cells carrying thousands of genetic mistakes accrued over a lifetime—many harmless, some bad and at least a few that may be good for you

Researchers analyzed DNA from a rare Iron Age burial site in southwest England.

Scientists Discover Celtic Society Where Men Left Home to Join Their Bride's Community

DNA extracted from 57 individuals buried in a 2,000-year-old cemetery provides evidence of a "matrilocal" community in Iron Age Britain, a new study suggests

A new crayfish species called Cherax pulverulentus has a bright blue color.

A New Crayfish Species Was Hiding in Plain Sight Among Common Aquarium Pets, Researchers Find

Native to Indonesian New Guinea, the crustacean comes in two color forms and is a popular pet choice in Europe, Japan, the United States and Indonesia

A young chimpanzee looks on during an outing to an island in the Douala-Edea National Park in Cameroon, on December 15, 2024.

From Chimps Eating Medicinal Plants to Footprints Tracking Our Early Relatives, Here Are the Most Significant Human Evolution Discoveries of 2024

Smithsonian paleoanthropologists explore how the year brought us closer to understanding ancient human relatives and origins

A cast of a Neanderthal skull at the Chemnitz State Museum of Archaeology in Germany. New research delves into when humans and Neanderthals interbred.

Researchers Track Down When Neanderthals and Early Modern Humans Interbred Using Ancient Genomes

Two studies came to a similar conclusion, highlighting a single, sustained event of mixing DNA. The findings could impact our understanding of when modern humans reached regions like East Asia and Australia

In 2024, engineers used a fluorescent protein found in some jellyfish to create a non-toxic spray that highlights fingerprints at a crime scene.

Seven Scientific Discoveries From 2024 That Could Lead to New Inventions

From indestructible tardigrades to body-merging comb jellies, animals can teach humans so much about medicine, robotics, aging and survival

From these upper hip bones, researchers extracted an ancient genome of the bacteria that causes syphilis.

Ancient DNA Offers Crucial Hints to the Origin of Syphilis, a Decades-Long Mystery That Has Divided Scientists

Researchers found evidence that early versions of syphilis-causing bacteria existed in the Americas long before the arrival of Columbus

Some people are genetically built to require less sleep than the rest of us.

Why Do Some People Thrive on So Little Sleep?

Short sleepers cruise by on four to six hours a night and don’t seem to suffer ill effects

DNA on Earth is built from sugars with a property known as right-handedness. Though left-handed sugars aren't used by any known life, scientists can create them—but now, researchers say they shouldn't.

Scientists Warn of an 'Unprecedented Risk' From Synthetic 'Mirror Life,' Built With a Reverse Version of Natural Proteins and Sugars

So-called mirror cells could rampage through our ecosystems, food supply and immune systems, experts say, potentially without existing barriers to protect against them

The genetic basis for orange cats' coloration has long been unknown to scientists.

Geneticists Solve the Mystery of Why Some Cats Are Orange—and Why They Tend to Be Males

Two new, preliminary papers identify a gene related to a cat’s coloration. The work also explains why tortoiseshell and calico cats tend to be females

Divers recovered rye seeds from the James R. Bentley shipwreck in Lake Huron.

Scientists Are Trying to Make Whiskey Using Rye Seeds That Were Submerged in a Lake Huron Shipwreck for Nearly 150 Years

Divers, distillers and researchers recently recovered grain from the "James R. Bentley," a wooden schooner that sank during a storm in 1878

Fat tissue, as seen here under a scanning electron micrograph, maintains a "memory" of obesity, new research suggests.

Fat Cells Retain a 'Memory' of Obesity, Making It Hard to Lose Weight and Keep It Off, Study Suggests

Obesity leads to DNA alterations that affect gene activity and linger after weight loss, a finding that researchers say could help reduce stigma around the disease

Four plaster casts from the House of the Golden Bracelet were made in 1974.

DNA Evidence Is Rewriting the Stories of Victims Who Perished in Pompeii Nearly 2,000 Years Ago

A new study has shattered historians' long-held assumptions about some of the people who died in Mount Vesuvius' eruption in 79 C.E.

Researchers performed DNA testing on the bones highlighted in this image.

Archaeologists Are Bewildered by a Skeleton Made From the Bones of at Least Eight People Who Died Thousands of Years Apart

Found in a cremation cemetery in Belgium, the skeleton includes bones dating to the Neolithic period and a Roman-era skull, according to a new study

The man's remains were found in 1938 in a well by Sverresborg Castle, near the modern-day city of Trondheim.

Scientists Think a Skeleton Found in a Well Is the Same Man Described in an 800-Year-Old Norse Text

The remains were discovered during excavations in 1938. Now, researchers have learned new information about his identity by analyzing DNA from his tooth

Researchers are trying to "bring back" the thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, a species that has not been officially recorded since 1936.

A 110-Year-Old Pickled Thylacine Head Helped Build the Most Complete Ancient Genome to Date, Says 'De-Extinction' Company

Colossal Biosciences reports it extracted DNA and RNA from the Tasmanian tiger specimen, a key step forward in its effort to create a modern proxy of the extinct species. Other scientists are calling for data to back up the claim

Scientists traced the history of AMY1, the gene that's responsible for the production of amylase, an enzyme that helps break down complex carbohydrates.

Can't Get Enough Carbs? That Craving Might Have Started More Than 800,000 Years Ago

New research traces the genetic underpinnings of the enzyme amylase, which helps humans digest starches and sugars

The lions have been housed as taxidermy specimens at the Field Museum in Chicago since 1925.

Two Lions Went on a Man-Eating Spree in 1898. Now, DNA Evidence Reveals Their Diets

The notorious predators, nicknamed the “Man-Eaters of Tsavo,” terrorized railway workers in Kenya for roughly nine months

David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday for their work on protein structure.

Scientists' Work on Protein Structure, Which Governs All Aspects of Life, Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper revealed how amino acids shape protein structure, a finding that could aid in drug discovery

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