Genetics

About 10 percent of the population is left-handed. Studies have identified a number of genes correlated with handedness that are related to microtubules, which help cells maintain their shapes.

Why Are Some People Left-Handed? Scientists Identify Rare Genetic Variants That May Be Linked to the Trait

The variants are present in fewer than 1 percent of people, but they were 2.7 times more likely to appear in lefties than in righties

One difference between resident and transient killer whales is their fins. Residents have more rounded, curved dorsal fins, while those of transients are straighter and more pointed.

Two New Species of Killer Whale Should Be Recognized, Study Says

A couple of eastern North Pacific populations of orcas have qualities that set them apart, according to researchers

The digital reconstruction of Emperor Wu's face (left), alongside a painting made of him from the 'Thirteen Emperors Scroll' (right).

See The Face of Emperor Wu, a Sixth-Century Chinese Ruler Brought to Life with DNA Analysis

Genetic analysis of DNA from his skeleton offers not only a first glimpse at his face, but also insight into his mysterious death

A Neanderthal skull on display at the Natural History Museum, London. Many modern humans have inherited around 1 to 2 percent of their DNA from Neanderthals and their close relatives, Denisovans.

Modern Indian People Have a Wide Range of Neanderthal DNA, Study Finds

Genomes of Indian people today reveal links to a prehistoric migration and a group of Iranian farmers, as well as several new sequences from the Neanderthal genome

Some researchers say that "bringing back" woolly mammoths could help protect frozen tundras by slowing the melting of permafrost.

Scientists Grow Elephant Stem Cells in Key Step Toward Woolly Mammoth 'De-Extinction'

The team's lofty goal of "resurrection" is still far from reality, but scientists say the advancement in understanding cells could help with elephant conservation

A mutation in a gene called TBXT may be behind the loss of great apes' tails, according to a new study.

Why Don’t Humans Have Tails? An Old Genetic Mutation Could Explain Why Monkeys, but Not Apes, Have the Extra Appendage

Scientists have pinpointed a genetic change that might have led the ancestors of humans to lose their tails

Remains of a stillborn infant with Down syndrome from the Iron Age, found in a 2,800-year-old house at the Las Eretas archaeological site in Spain.

DNA Reveals Presence of Down Syndrome in Ancient Society

The burials of infants with Down syndrome in Europe provide insight into how babies with genetic conditions were cared for in premodern times, according to a new study

Gene editing has produced a healthy "founder population" of pigs that are immune to a deadly virus called porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, according to a new study.

Gene-Edited Pork Could Be Coming Soon to Your Dinner Plate

Scientists are using CRISPR technology to make pigs immune to a deadly virus—and they're hoping for FDA approval by early next year

The 23 pairs of human chromosomes. People who inherit two tall X chromosomes (bottom right) are much more susceptible to autoimmune diseases than people with one X and one short Y chromosome.

Why Do Women Get More Autoimmune Diseases? Study of Mice Hints at Answers

Four in five people with an autoimmune disease are women. New research points to an RNA molecule involved in silencing one of their X chromosomes as a potential culprit

Ice worms spend most of the day burrowing their way through the cold, dark interior of the glacier, coming to the surface only in the afternoon to feed on algae and bacteria.

This Eight-Day Festival Celebrates One of Alaska's Weirdest Worms

Welcome to the Cordova Ice Worm Festival, a quirky local tradition honoring the mysterious creatures that live in glacial ice

To understand Elma's life, researchers cut her tusk lengthwise and took samples to study the elements present in the ivory.

Meet Elma, a Woolly Mammoth Who Roamed Far and Wide More Than 14,000 Years Ago

By analyzing a fossilized tusk, scientists have pieced together the animal's movements

The 160-year-old pelt of the woolly dog Mutton in the Smithsonian’s collection

What Happened to the Extinct Woolly Dog?

Researchers studying the 160-year-old fur of a dog named Mutton in the Smithsonian collections found that the Indigenous breed existed for at least 5,000 years before European colonizers eradicated it

Genes that significantly increase risk of developing multiple sclerosis were introduced to northwestern Europe by herders who migrated from the east around 5,000 years ago.

Ancient DNA From Eurasian Herders Sheds Light on the Origins of Multiple Sclerosis

Genetic variants linked to the risk of MS were brought to Europe during a migration around 5,000 years ago, a new study finds—and they might have helped herders survive

Sunlight illuminates a plaque in Charleston, South Carolina, honoring 36 likely enslaved people—ranging in age from 3 to over 50—whose remains were discovered in 2013.

A New Project Uses Isotopes to Pinpoint the Birthplaces of the Enslaved

In South Carolina, members of the local Black community are teaming up with scientists to produce a novel study of the trans-Atlantic slave trade

Monarch butterflies' signature white spots could help them fly—and inspire better drones.

Seven Scientific Discoveries From 2023 That Could Lead to New Inventions

Biologists learned lots about animals and plants this year, and their findings could inspire better robots, medicine and environmental technologies

Turquet’s octopus

Octopus DNA Reveals Clues to When the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Last Collapsed

Understanding the ice sheet's past could help researchers shed light on its future melting

Malus sieversii is a wild apple native to the mountains of southern Kazakhstan.

Saving the Apple's Ancient Ancestor in the Forests of Kazakhstan

Found in the Tian Shan mountains, <em>Malus sieversii</em> could hold the secret to making other species of the fruit more stress-resistant

Early risers may be able to thank their Neanderthal ancestors.

Neanderthal DNA May Help Explain Why Some People Are Early Risers

A new study finds a link between Neanderthal DNA and modern human genes related to the internal body clock, or circadian rhythm

Electric eels can discharge up to 860 volts of electricity.

Eels Can Genetically Modify Nearby Fish With Their Electrical Pulses

In laboratory experiments, gene transfer occurred in 5 percent of zebrafish larvae that were near eels when they discharged electricity

Polar bears live in rugged, hard-to-reach places in the Arctic.

DNA Pulled From Paw Prints May Help Researchers Study Elusive Polar Bears

As rising temperatures threaten the Arctic mammals, scientists are turning to new, non-invasive methods to study them

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