DNA

DNA sleuthing helped identify Joseph James DeAngelo, the suspected East Area Rapist, who was arraigned in a Sacramento, Calif., courtroom in April.

Easy DNA Identifications With Genealogy Databases Raise Privacy Concerns

4:50pm October 11, 2018

by Rob Stein

A majority of Americans of European descent could be linked to third cousins, or closer relatives, using genealogy databases, a study finds. Soon it may be possible to identify nearly everyone by DNA.

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Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers display ivory seized from poachers around the country. KWS has played a critical role in carrying out operations against poachers.

DNA Test Helps Conservationists Track Down Ivory Smugglers

4:57pm September 19, 2018

by Christopher Joyce

The cartels that run the ivory trade try to cover their tracks — among other things, they smuggle tusks from the same elephant separately. But DNA testing can help find patterns.

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The South Pool of New York's 9/11 Memorial, which honors victims of the attacks. On Wednesday, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, announced it identified the remains of Scott Michael Johnson, a 26-year-old securities analyst.

National

9/11 Victim Identified, Nearly 17 Years Later

3:16pm July 26, 2018

by Sasha Ingber

Scott Michael Johnson, identified by the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, was a securities analyst at an investment banking firm. More than 1,100 victims have yet to be identified.

In these two two-cell mouse embryos, the surface of the embryos is outlined in orange, the DNA in the nucleus is indicated in blue and the activity of the LINE-1 gene is indicated via bright red spots.

Some DNA Dismissed As 'Junk' Is Crucial To Embryo Development

4:34pm June 21, 2018

by Richard Harris

Formerly considered useless, or maybe a parasite, the stretch of DNA known as LINE-1 actually plays "a key role" in creating an embryo and embryonic stem cells, research shows.

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Elation is an Angus bull that recently sold for $800,000. His co-owner, Brian Bell, sells Elation's semen for $50 a sample, about double the going rate.

How Prized Bull Semen And DNA Testing Are Reshaping America's Beef Herd

11:32am May 08, 2018

by Kristofor Husted

Cattle ranchers know that making the best steak starts with the genetic makeup of the herd. Now those genetics have taken a historic leap thanks to new, predictive DNA technology.

Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, who authorities suspect is the so-called Golden State Killer responsible for at least a dozen murders is arraigned in Sacramento, Calif., on Friday.

In Hunt For Golden State Killer, Investigators Uploaded His DNA To Genealogy Site

7:31pm April 27, 2018

by Laurel Wamsley

After failing to find a match within criminal databases, law enforcement uploaded the killer's DNA profile to a no-frills website used to trace ancestry. The tactic has spurred privacy concerns.

Joseph James DeAngelo, a suspect in a series of killings in California, was arrested Tuesday.

National

'Golden State Killer,' Suspected Of Terrorizing California For Years, Arrested

6:13pm April 25, 2018

by Amy Held

Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, was taken into custody at his home outside Sacramento, not far from where officials say a decade-long crime spree of dozens of rapes and murders began in the 1970s.

Colored transmission electron micrograph of a section through an Escherichia coli bacterium. This rod-shaped bacterium moves via its hair-like flagellae (yellow).

Biologists Trace Genetic Roots Of Evolution, One Cell At A Time

2:29pm March 15, 2018

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

E.coli bacteria, each cell trapped in a tiny tube, are giving researchers the chance to study the pace and effects of single genetic mutations. Most mutations, the scientists find, aren't harmful.

At Davos, Yuval Harari suggests that we are in our third grand revolution — the control of data.

Science

Biometric Data And The Rise Of Digital Dictatorship

1:17pm February 28, 2018

by Marcelo Gleiser

As historian and author Yuval Harari suggests, market forces and investor greed will keep moving the data revolution forward. But there are balancing forces to this onslaught, says Marcelo Gleiser.

What scientists believe to be our oldest ancestor, the single-celled organism named LUCA, likely lived in extreme conditions where magma met water — in a setting similar to this one from Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Science

The Microbial Eve: Our Oldest Ancestors Were Single-Celled Organisms

3:58pm January 31, 2018

by Marcelo Gleiser

Consider this: Evidence points to a microbial Eve as our first ancestor — a tough, underwater organism withstanding extremes that became every other creature to ever live, says Marcelo Gleiser.