The San Diego Archaeology Center holds a pair of extraordinary skeletons. Dating back about 9,500 years, they are among the oldest human remains ever found in the Americas.

A number of scientists would love to study the bones, using powerful new techniques to extract any surviving DNA.

“These skeletons of such antiquity are so important for helping us understand what happened in the past in North America,” said Brian Kemp, a molecular anthropologist at Washington State University.

Continue reading “Tribes’ Win in Fight for La Jolla Bones Clouds Hopes for DNA Studies” →

When you learned about genes in high school, chances are it went something like this:

Our DNA holds about 20,000 protein-coding genes. To make a protein, a cell makes a copy of the corresponding gene, in the form of a single-stranded molecule called RNA. The cell uses the RNA molecule as a template to make the protein. And then the protein floats off to do its job.

That’s certainly true. But there’s more to the story.

Continue reading “Telling Jewels From Junk in DNA” →

Loose pieces of DNA course through our veins. As cells in our body die, they cast off fragments of genes, some of which end up in the bloodstream, saliva and urine.

Cell-free DNA is like a message in a bottle, delivering secrets about what’s happening inside our bodies. Pregnant women, for example, carry cell-free DNA from their fetuses. A test that analyzes fetal DNA has proved to be more accurate in screening for Down syndrome than standard blood tests.

In 2012, Jay Shendure, a geneticist at the University of Washington, and his colleagues were able to reconstruct the entire genome of a fetus from cell-free DNA in a pregnant woman’s saliva.

Continue reading “Searching for Cancer Maps in Free-Floating DNA” →

The Fish and Wildlife Service is barring the door against 201 species of salamanders, making it illegal to import them or move them across state lines, the agency  announced on Tuesday. Scientists hope the ban will help prevent a devastating outbreak from driving native salamander species extinct.

In 2013, scientists in the Netherlands discovered a species of fungus infecting native fire salamanders. Later research revealed that the fungus, called Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, or Bsal, was carried by Asian salamanders that were imported into Europe as pets. While the fungus was harmless to the Asian amphibians, it was lethal to the Dutch ones.

Continue reading “U.S. Restricts Movement of Salamanders, for Their Own Good” →