Theo Evans, The University of Western Australia and Qian Tang, Harvard University
Using DNA sequencing, the origins of one of the world’s most common insects, the German cockroach, have been traced back to Asia. Learning more about this urban pest can help us fight it effectively.
A genetic match to an ancient person doesn’t mean you’re more related genealogically.
Mark Edward Atkinson/Tetra Images via Getty Images
Shai Carmi, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Harald Ringbauer, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Genealogical and genetic ancestors aren’t the same thing. A DNA match − or a lack of one − may not tell you what you imagine it does about your family tree.
An unidentified fungal killer swept through a South African pine plantation in the 1980s.
Rodger Shagam
DNA of the male-determining Y chromosome has been completely sequenced end-to-end, and it’s just as weird as we expected. Will we finally be able to understand how it works?
Environmental DNA provides a wealth of information for conservationists, archaeologists and forensic scientists. But the unintentional pickup of human genetic information raises ethical questions.
Ancient DNA preserved in the tooth tartar of human fossils encodes microbial metabolites that could be the next antibiotic.
Werner/Siemens Foundation
Ancient microbes likely produced natural products their descendants today do not. Tapping into this lost chemical diversity could offer a potential source of new drugs.
Existing genetic data and sequencing tools are overwhelmingly based on people of European ancestry, which excludes much of the rich genetic variation of the world.
A cotton field in Lubbock, Texas.
AP Photo/LM Otero
The monumental Earth Biogenome Project has galvanised hundreds of geneticists and bioinformaticists from all over the world.
Sequencing the genome of a virus gives researchers information on how mutations can affect its transmissibility and virulence.
catalinr/iStock via Getty Images Plus
DNA has been storing vast amounts of biological information for billions of years. Researchers are working to harness DNA for archiving data. A new method uses light to simplify the process.
New research is uncovering that whales have their own distinct microbiomes that may play important roles in animal health. But how do scientists study whale microbiomes?