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genomics

Illustration of a wooly mammoth with its hind quarters still being assembled from digital blocks.
explainers

Why ‘De-Extinction’ Is Impossible (But Could Work Anyway)

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
May 9, 2022
Read Later

Several projects are aiming to bring back mammoths and other species that have vanished from the planet. Whether that’s technically possible is beside the point.

An artist’s 3D illustration of chromosomes splitting and fusing together.
genomics

Secrets of Early Animal Evolution Revealed by Chromosome ‘Tectonics’

By Viviane Callier
February 2, 2022
Read Later

Large blocks of genes conserved through hundreds of millions of years of evolution hint at how the first animal chromosomes came to be.

2021 in Review

The Year in Biology

By John Rennie
December 21, 2021
Read Later

The detailed understanding of brains and multicellular bodies reached new heights this year, while the genomes of the COVID-19 virus and various organisms yielded more surprises.

A detailed photo of a fruit fly wing in silhouette.
developmental biology

Mathematical Analysis of Fruit Fly Wings Hints at Evolution’s Limits

By Elena Renken
September 20, 2021
Read Later

A painstaking study of wing morphology shows both the striking uniformity of individuals in a species and a subtle pattern of linked variations that evolution can exploit.

Photo of Karen Miga of the University of California, Santa Cruz, with a representation of chromosomes in the background.
Q&A

Karen Miga Fills In the Missing Pieces of Our Genome

By Carrie Arnold
September 8, 2021
Read Later

Driven by her fascination with highly repetitive, hard-to-read parts of our DNA, Karen Miga led a coalition of researchers to finish sequencing the human genome after almost two decades.

Micrograph of archaeal cells.
genomics

Plasmid, Virus or Other? DNA ‘Borgs’ Blur Boundaries.

By Jordana Cepelewicz +1 authors
Allison Whitten
July 21, 2021
Read Later

Scientists have reported large DNA structures in some archaea that defy easy categorization.

genomics

DNA Jumps Between Animal Species. No One Knows How Often.

By Christie Wilcox
June 9, 2021
Read Later

The discovery of a gene shared by two unrelated species of fish is the latest evidence that horizontal gene transfers occur surprisingly often in vertebrates.

Video of a swimming Paramecium bursaria, with its Chlorella endosymbionts.
molecular biology

RNA Brakes May Stabilize a Cellular Symbiosis

By Max Kozlov
June 2, 2021
Read Later

In some symbiotic partnerships, an RNA-based mechanism may sabotage the growth of greedy hosts.

An illustration representing the genomic mobility of transposons.
genomics

Scientists Catch Jumping Genes Rewiring Genomes

By Max Kozlov
May 12, 2021
Read Later

Transcription factors that act throughout the genome can arise from mashups of transposable elements inserted into established genes.


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