An international team of researchers used ancient DNA to reconstruct the first high-resolution genetic record of modern European lineages through time, observing both human DNA evolving in ‘real-time’ and the dramatic population changes that have taken place in Europe. Ancient DNA recovered from a series of skeletons in central Germany up to 7500 years old [...]

In a new study, scientists were able to predict survival rates among patients with heart disease based on the length of strands of DNA found on the ends of chromosomes known as telomeres. San Francisco, California – Can the length of strands of DNA in patients with heart disease predict their life expectancy? Researchers from [...]

Analyses of ancient DNA, which had been extracted from the leg bone of an early modern human living some 40,000 years ago near Beijing, revealed that this early modern human was related to the ancestors of many present-day Asians and Native Americans. An international team of researchers including Svante Pääbo and Qiaomei Fu of the [...]

University of Cambridge scientists have published a new study showing that four-stranded ‘quadruple helix’ DNA structures, known as G-quadruplexes, exist within the human genome. In 1953, Cambridge researchers Watson and Crick published a paper describing the interweaving ‘double helix’ DNA structure – the chemical code for all life. Now, in the year of that scientific [...]

A new study from researchers at Harvard University shows that rates of protein synthesis are affected by environmental perturbations, resulting in certain sequences that manufacture proteins efficiently, while others which are ostensibly identical, produce almost none. Harvard scientists say they’ve solved a mystery that’s nearly as old as science’s understanding of the genetic code. Though [...]

Researchers at UCLA have shown that body-fat responses to high-fat, high-sugar diets have a very strong genetic component and have identified several genetic factors potentially regulating these responses. Researchers at UCLA say it’s not just what you eat that makes those pants tighter — it’s also genetics. In a new study, scientists discovered that body-fat [...]

Genome-sequencing data indicates that sponges were preceded by ctenophores, complex marine predators also called comb jellies. The scientists presented their findings at the annual meeting for the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, in San Francisco, California. Although they are gelatinous like jellyfish, comb jellies form their own phylum (ctenophores.) The tree of life roots [...]

When blowflies and flesh flies settle on dead animals, they aren’t just feasting on the carrion, they are in fact sampling their DNA. Scientists have demonstrated that this DNA persists long enough to be sequenced, allowing them to gain a quick and cost-effective snapshot of mammal diversity in otherwise inaccessible rainforest environments. The scientists published [...]

The UK has planned to fully sequence the genome of 100,000 Britons with cancer and rare diseases in an effort to decode their DNA, and hopefully find a cure for diseases. The project is unusual because it will decode the entire genome, not just parts of it. Prime Minister David Cameron has stated that the [...]

Sequencing DNA is nothing new, but it’s much harder to sequence the DNA of a single cell. In order to get enough DNA for sequencing, usually thousands or millions of cells are required. Finding out which mutations are in which cells is extremely difficult, making the mutations present in only a few cells, like early [...]

A new study indicates that DNA strands can be coaxed to fold into shapes in a matter of minutes. This could speed up progress in the field of DNA origami. The scientists published their findings in the journal Science. So far, biotechnologists have only been able to make simple forms out of DNA, like tubes, [...]

An international team has produced a rough draft of wheat’s DNA sequence. The draft identifies many of its genes and makes it possible to identify thousands of potential genetic changes that could improve this crop. It’s been long considered one of the most important crop genomes. The scientists published their findings in the journal Nature. [...]