Genetics

  1. Animals

    Urchins are dying off across the Caribbean. Scientists now know why

    A type of single-celled microorganism associated with coral diseases is behind a sea urchin die-off in the Caribbean.

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  2. Animals

    Octopus, squid and cuttlefish arms evolved to ‘taste’ different compounds

    Octopus suckers can taste a variety of greasy, sticky molecules, while squid and cuttlefish suckers detect bitter compounds.

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  3. Animals

    This sea cucumber shoots sticky tubes out of its butt. Its genes hint at how

    A new genetics study is providing a wealth of information about silky, sticky tubes, called the Cuvierian organ, that sea cucumbers use to tangle foes.

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  4. Animals

    Invasive yellow crazy ants create male ‘chimeras’ to reproduce

    Yellow crazy ants are first known species where chimerism is required in males: Each of their cells holds DNA from just one of two genetic lineages.

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  5. Life

    How some beetles ‘drink’ water using their butts

    Red flour beetles, a major agricultural pest, suck water out of the air using special cells in their rear ends, a new study suggests.

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  6. Anthropology

    Native Americans corralled Spanish horses decades before Europeans arrived

    Great Plains groups incorporated domestic horses into their cultures by the early 1600s, before Europeans moved north from Mexico.

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  7. Genetics

    DNA from Beethoven’s hair hints at what killed the composer

    Many historians suspect Beethoven died from liver failure. A new analysis shows he had a heightened genetic risk for liver disease, researchers say.

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  8. Genetics

    Why experts recommend ditching racial labels in genetic studies

    Racial labels don’t explain biological and genetic diversity but do cause stigma. They belong “in the dustbin of history,” a panel of experts says.

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  9. Animals

    What the first look at the genetics of Chernobyl’s dogs revealed

    Dogs living in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant industrial area are genetically distinct from other dogs, but scientists don’t yet know if radiation is the reason.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    How fingerprints form was a mystery — until now

    A theory proposed by British mathematician Alan Turing in the 1950s helps explain how fingerprint patterns such as arches and whorls arise.

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  11. Genetics

    50 years ago, scientists sequenced a gene for the first time

    Within five decades, scientists went from sequencing a single gene to sequencing the entire human genome.

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  12. Life

    Squid edit their RNA to keep cellular supply lines moving in the cold

    Squid change their RNA more often in the cold, producing motor proteins that keep cellular cargo on track.

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