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DNA

Neanderthals survived from roughly 400,000 to 40,000 years ago, when they mysteriously disappeared.

What Killed the Neanderthals? New Research Suggests a Lack of Genetic Diversity May Be Partially to Blame

When the climate cooled, the population of Neanderthals shrank. Most that lived between 60,000 and 40,000 years ago were descended from the same lineage and had very similar DNA

Natural selection has been playing a bigger role in changing modern human DNA than previously thought, according to a new study.

Humans Are Still Evolving. Natural Selection Has Favored Genes Linked to Red Hair and Less Male-Pattern Baldness, a Study Suggests

A massive study of ancient and modern DNA from thousands of West Eurasian people has identified nearly 500 genetic variants that evolution has selected for or against in recent history

The original Shroud of Turin is housed at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy, but replicas like the one shown here have been created for exhibitions and public displays.

Jesus’s Burial Cloth or Medieval Forgery? DNA Evidence Further Complicates the Debate Over the Shroud of Turin

A new analysis revealed traces of various plants, animals and humans on the controversial linen cloth. But outside experts are skeptical of the findings, which could complicate efforts to identify the shroud’s original wearer

Pinot noir grapes in Verzenay, France

New Research

Scientists Say This 600-Year-Old Grape Seed Is ‘Genetically Identical’ to Modern Varieties Used to Make Pinot Noir

Researchers analyzed grape seeds dating to between 2300 B.C.E. and 1500 C.E., including one particularly intriguing sample found in the toilet of a medieval hospital in France

The asteroid Ryugu imaged by the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft in 2018

Life’s Genetic Code Requires Five Key Ingredients. The Asteroid Ryugu Has All of Them, a New Study Suggests

The findings further hint that space rocks may have brought the building blocks of RNA and DNA to Earth long ago

The fire-loving fungus Geopyxis, seen here in 2022, after California’s Caldor Fire, has distinctive brown cups with white rims.

These Charcoal-Eating Fungi Flourish After Fires. Uncovering Their Genetic Secrets Could Help Rebuild Burned Ecosystems

Mycologists cultivated fungi they found in post-wildfire landscapes to understand the evolutionary traits behind their ability to thrive in the wake of flames

Around one-third of Americans take multivitamins, but researchers don't quite understand how they affect people's health.

Taking a Daily Multivitamin Might Slow Some Signs of Biological Aging, a New Study Suggests

Researchers don’t know how these modest changes at the cellular level relate to overall health

Between 500 and 1,000 koalas were estimated to live in Victoria, Australia, in the 1920s.

These Koalas Bounced Back From the Brink of Local Extinction Extremely Fast. Surprisingly, So Did Their Genetic Resilience

Conservationists saved the fuzzy creatures in Victoria, Australia. Now, the animals are showing remarkable signs of genetic recovery

Anopheles mosquitoes are major malaria vectors.

Mosquitoes Have Been Biting Humans for More Than One Million Years

A new study suggests that the deadly insects evolved their taste for human blood much earlier than previously thought, around when Homo erectus migrated into Southeast Asia

A statue of Genghis Khan in Mongolia

New Research

Are 1 in 200 Men Alive Today Really Related to Genghis Khan? Probably Not, According to New Research

A new DNA analysis suggests that the genetic legacy of the Mongol Empire’s founder is likely more complicated than historians previously assumed

A reconstruction of a Neanderthal man at the Natural History Museum in London.

Neanderthal Men May Have Often Hooked Up With Human Women Thousands of Years Ago

Most people alive today carry a little Neanderthal DNA—except in a few spots. A new study might explain why

Once treated by humans as prey, horses became key to transportation, warfare, trade and companionship. Their history is intertwined with our own.

Gallop Into the Year of the Horse With These Five Amazing Equine Discoveries

Since their domestication, horses have changed the course of human history. It’s no wonder the Chinese zodiac associates them with prosperity and success

The human genome is made up of about three billion pairs of DNA units called nucleotides.

Google Researchers Say Their New A.I. Tool AlphaGenome Can Help Decode the Human Genetic Instruction Book

The computer model might help scientists better understand the biological impacts of typos in DNA

Seven mummified cheetahs and the remains of dozens more were found in caves in northern Saudi Arabia.

Cool Finds

Mummified Cheetahs Discovered in Caves Could Help Saudi Arabia Bring the Wild Cat Back to Its Historical Range

Researchers thought that just one subspecies of cheetah lived in Saudi Arabia long ago. But an unexpected discovery seems to broaden the gene pool

Through gene-editing, researchers in the field of synthetic biology hope to make endangered species more resilient against disease or climate change and protect human health, among other goals.

Three Stunning Ways Biologists Aim to Edit Animal and Plant Genes to Fight Diseases and Extinction

The strategy, known as synthetic biology, is gaining momentum globally as a conservation tool and human health solution, despite attracting some critics

The "Tumat puppies" were discovered with their fur, skin and stomach contents still intact.

Contents of a Wolf Pup’s Stomach From 14,400 Years Ago Are Teaching Researchers About the Lives of the Last Woolly Rhinos

Analysis of woolly rhinoceros DNA recovered from the permafrost-preserved wolf further hints that the Ice Age beasts went extinct because of a sudden shift in the climate

Scientists found the DNA on a drawing similar to the Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk​​​​​​, which is shown.

Could Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA Be Hiding Inside One of His Renaissance Sketches?

Scientists have discovered male human DNA on a chalk drawing that may have been created by the famous artist and scientist. But they cannot definitively link the genetic material, or the sketch, to Leonardo

About 50 Apennine brown bears live in central Italy.

After Living Alongside Humans for Millennia, These Italian Brown Bears Have Evolved to Become Less Aggressive

Researchers found genetic differences that likely resulted from humans killing aggressive bears, leaving docile individuals to breed and pass along their genes to offspring

In 2025, researchers watched an interstellar comet, learned about human origins and traced the spread of measles.

The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2025, From Medical Breakthroughs to an Interstellar Visitor

All year long, these moments captivated the public, demonstrated dangerous trends, and pushed research and innovation forward

The growth plates, known as specimens UAMN3760 and UAMN3724, were discovered near Fairbanks in the early 1950s.

Mysteriously Young ‘Mammoth’ Fossils Discovered in Alaska Turned Out to Be Whale Bones

When researchers learned the fossils were merely 1,900 to 2,700 years old—which would be the youngest woolly mammoth fossils ever found—they suspected something was amiss

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