DNA

Ancient DNA suggests that some Northern Europeans got their languages from Siberia 0
- Ancient Archeology, From Around the Web, Science & Technology
- May 14, 2019
Most Europeans descend from a combination of European hunter-gatherers, Anatolian early farmers, and Steppe herders. But only European speakers of Uralic languages like Estonian and Finnish also have DNA from ancient Siberians. Now, with the help of ancient DNA samples, researchers reporting in Current Biology on May 9 suggest that these languages may have arrived from Siberia by the beginning of the Iron Age, about 2,500 years ago, rather than evolving in Northern Europe.

By David Aragorn
This Man’s DNA Is the Oldest in North America 0
- Earth Mysteries, From Around the Web, Science & Technology
- May 9, 2019
A Native American man in Montana has what may be the oldest DNA native to the Americas, according to news reports.

By David Aragorn
Stonehenge: DNA reveals origin of builders 0
- Ancient Archeology, From Around the Web
- April 16, 2019
The ancestors of the people who built Stonehenge travelled west across the Mediterranean before reaching Britain, a study has shown.

By David Aragorn
DNA remnants of three separate Denisovan populations found in human genomes 0
- Ancient Archeology, From Around the Web
- April 13, 2019
The archaic hominins weren’t homogenous, and archaic humans weren’t shy, research suggests. Dyani Lewis reports.

By David Aragorn
The first known fossil of a Denisovan skull has been found in a Siberian cave 0
- Ancient Archeology, From Around the Web
- April 3, 2019
DNA evidence hints that the hominids interbred with humans as recently as 15,000 years ago

By David Aragorn
Scientists discover genetic mutation that helps block pain and improve healing 0
- From Around the Web, Science & Technology
- April 2, 2019
Jo Cameron smells her smouldering flesh before realising she has even been burnt and scoffs down chilli peppers with ease — and now doctors believe the 71-year-old could hold the key to new treatments for chronic injuries, after discovering she feels virtually no pain.

By David Aragorn
The biggest revolution in gene editing: Crispr-Cas9 explained 0
- From Around the Web, Science & Technology
- March 30, 2019
Prof Jennifer Doudna, one the pioneers of Crispr-Cas9 gene editing, explains how this revolutionary discovery enables precise changes to our DNA, which can be used to correct mutations that cause genetic diseases and eradicate them from a germ line.

By David Aragorn
Story of most murderous people of all time revealed in ancient DNA 0
- Ancient Archeology, From Around the Web
- March 29, 2019
Starting 5000 years ago, the Yamnaya embarked on a violent conquest of Europe. Now genetic analysis tells their tale for the first time

By David Aragorn
NASA-Funded Research Creates DNA-like Molecule to Aid Search for Alien Life 0
- From Around the Web, Science & Technology
- March 28, 2019
In a research breakthrough funded by NASA, scientists have synthesized a molecular system that, like DNA, can store and transmit information. This unprecedented feat suggests there could be an alternative to DNA-based life, as we know it on Earth – a genetic system for life that may be possible on other worlds.

By David Aragorn
Surprising DNA found in ancient people from southern Europe 0
- Ancient Archeology, From Around the Web
- March 18, 2019
A study of 8,000 years of genetics from Spain and Portugal yields a surprisingly complex picture of the inhabitants’ ancestry.

By David Aragorn