Sorry to clog your inbox, but I needed to send out a correction. My upcoming talk at the Stanmeyer Gallery in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, is not on November 2. It is on Saturday, November 3, at 2 pm. Here’s the Facebook event page. Hope to see some Friday’s Elk readers from the Berkshires this weekend!
Carl
Originally published October 31, 2018. Copyright 2018 Carl Zimmer.
The New York Times, October 18, 2018
People have always told stories about their ancestral origins. But now millions of people are looking at their DNA to see if those stories hold up. While genetic tests can indeed reveal some secrets about our family past, we can also jump to the wrong conclusions from their results.
The reception of Senator Elizabeth Warren’s DNA results is a textbook case in this confusion.
On Monday morning, Senator Warren released an analysis on her DNA showing that six to 10 generations back she had a Native American ancestor.
Continue reading “Before Arguing About DNA Tests, Learn the Science Behind Them”
The New York Times, October 18, 2018
Cancer is a disease of mutations. Tumor cells are riddled with genetic mutations not found in healthy cells. Scientists estimate that it takes five to 10 key mutations for a healthy cell to become cancerous.
Some of these mutations can be caused by assaults from the environment, such as ultraviolet rays and cigarette smoke. Others arise from harmful molecules produced by the cells themselves. In recent years, researchers have begun taking a closer look at these mutations, to try to understand how they arise in healthy cells, and what causes these cells to later erupt into full-blown cancer.
The New York Times, October 15, 2018
In a rare political riposte, Senator Elizabeth Warren on Monday released an analysis of her DNA indicating that she has a Native American ancestor, likely between six and 10 generations back in her family history.
President Trump has mocked Ms. Warren’s claims of Native American ancestry, often calling her Pocahontas. The new analysis appeared to be scientifically rigorous, researchers said, but it cannot give someone a cultural identity as Native American.
The research on Ms. Warren’s DNA was led by Carlos Bustamante, a Stanford University geneticist who has written a number of studies on the genetic ancestry of people in the Americas. The results were first reported by the Boston Globe.
The New York Times, October 12, 2018
Forests have burned in spectacular fashion this year. From California to Colorado, Portugal to Greece, photographers have captured terrifying images of infernos soaring into the sky and spreading to the horizon.
The fires left scenes of ashen destruction, but they did not wipe out everything. Scattered about the ravaged landscapes were islands of trees, shrubs and grass that survived unharmed.
It’s easy to overlook these remnants, which ecologists call fire refugia. But they can be vital to the long-term well-being of forests. These havens shelter species that are vulnerable to fires. Afterward, they can be starting points for the ecosystem’s regeneration.