Isolated Humpback Whales

Researchers studying humpback whales that inhabit the Arabian Sea and northern Indian Ocean have found them to be the most genetically distinct whales in the world, suggesting this long-distance migrating population has remained isolated from other whales for 70,000 years.

Ancient Gene-Hoarding Shrub

An ancient flowering, evergreen shrub (Amborella) that only grows on a single Pacific archipelago off the eastern coast of Australia has absorbed the entire mitochondrial genes of a moss, three green algae and several hundred genes from an unknown number of flowering plants for a bloated genome orders of magnitude larger than any other known plant.

Human DNA Mostly "Junk"

A new study estimates that only 8.2% of human DNA is functional, performing or directing vital developmental activities, with the remainder of the molecule leftover evolutionary material described as "junk" that serves no known genetic purpose.

Rare Chimeric Albino Redwood

Scientists and historians are fighting transit authorities to prevent the removal of an extremely rare 52-foot, healthy chimeric albino redwood growing near a railroad in Cotati, California, one of only ten specimens ever found that produce male and female cones as well as displaying normal and albino tissues in the same tree.

Dog Cancer Preserves Genes

Genetic analysis of the communicable cancer canine transmissible venereal tumour (CTVT) suggests it appeared in dogs about 11,000 years ago and preserves the identical DNA of the dog from which it originated, allowing a rare comparison of ancient versus modern animals.

Primate Duplicate Genes

Small fragments of DNA called core duplicons replicated and spread across the chromosomes of select primates between 8 million and 12 million years ago, a genetic characteristic not found in other animals and an evolutionary trait that may have "seeded" chromosomal development and fundamentally influenced human evolution and brain size.

Snakes Fastest to Evolve

With the first two full snake genomes (Burmese python, king cobra) fully sequenced, scientists have found snakes have the fastest rate of genetic evolution among vertebrates with the strongest changed genes involving body shape, metabolism and venom production.

Convergent Evolution in Genes

Geneticists studying 2326 genes in 22 mammal species have found widespread "convergence signatures" in over 200 regions for biological traits, showing that convergent evolution of similar anatomical and functional features such as sight and echolocation across unrelated species is more widespread at the molecular level than previously thought.

Quadruple Helix DNA

Scientists have observed the complex four-stranded ("G-quadruplex") DNA present in human cells for the first time, with implications the structure may be involved in certain cancers.

Blood of King Louis XVI

Scientists have matched DNA from dried blood on a handkerchief stored in a gourd decorated with scenes of the French Revolution with tissue from the mummified head of the French King Henry IV, proving the blood to be from Louis XVI executed in 1793 and the first historical genome ever retrieved.

Longer Lives of Females in DNA

Researchers studying the mitochondrial DNA of fruit flies have found that mutations in male DNA affecting how long they live and how fast they age are not continued to subsequent generations as only the female mitochondrial DNA is passed to offspring, providing a clue why females of many species consistently outlive males.

Historical Ethiopian Genomes

Researchers studying the genome of Ethiopian populations have discovered an unexpected diversity and similarity to those of populations from Syria and Israel, potentially a genetic heritage reflecting the arrival of the Queen of Sheba mentioned in both the Bible and the Qur'an.

Children of Older Fathers

An analysis of the DNA of young adults finds that the genetic makeup of sperm changes as a man ages, and that children born to older fathers and even older paternal grandfathers appear to inherit this genetic bias for a longer lifespan.

One Gene Made Human Brains

Researchers have determined that a single gene (SRGAP2) duplicated itself 3.5 million years ago and then duplicated itself again 1 million years later, with the effect of this rare duplication slowing down the maturation of the human brain and giving it more time to develop its modern complexity.

Ancient DNA in Modern Mammals

Research on 38 different species of mammals have revealed traces of ancient endogenous retrovirus DNA that invaded the genome of a common ancestor some 100 million years ago and has propagated by incorporating its genes into our own.

New Molecules Carry Genes

Biologists have discovered six new artificial XNA (xeno-nucleic acids) molecules that are capable of encoding genetic information and then copying that information onto a new XNA molecule, a life process that was previously thought unique to DNA.

Y Chromosome Not Going Extinct

Researchers studying rhesus macaques have found the male Y chromosome still contains 20 out of 800 genes that match the X chromosome, with 19 of these shared with humans, indicating the Y chromosome has held steady for at least 25 million years and is not bound for extinction, as predicted by some evolutionary theories.

Full Genome of Extinct Humans

Researchers have completed deriving the entire genome of a previously unknown extinct line of humans, a group closely related to Neanderthals called Denisovians, from a small fragment of a finger bone found in the Denisovia Cave in southern Siberia.

Russian Origin for First Americans

New genetic research has revealed a link between Native American populations and the indigenous groups of the Altay Mountains of southern Siberia dating back about 18,000 years, suggesting a possible origin point for the descendants of the original North American settlers.

DNA of Black Death

Scientists have sequenced the full genome of the bacterium that causes the plague (Yersinia pestis) from teeth samples taken from victims buried in London in 1348, the first time an ancient pathogen has been restored for scientific study.