Professor Indraneel Mittra and his team show that DNA fragments from dying cells function as agents of horizontal gene transfer in mammalian cells. For decades, scientists have known that bacteria can ...

When Charles Darwin first proposed how evolution works in 1859, it seemed plausible. Tiny changes stack up over time, eventually leading a species to become something entirely different. Aside from ...

This research introduces a novel method for inferring DNA methylation patterns in non-skeletal tissues from ancient specimens, providing new insights into human evolution. As DNA methylation is a key ...

A giant DNA virus pulled from a Japanese freshwater pond is forcing scientists to rethink how complex cells first acquired their defining feature: the nucleus. Named ushikuvirus, the newly ...

Researchers at the Technion have discovered how changes in genetic regulatory sequences can lead to alterations in the form and structure of animals—even when genetic regulatory systems are stable and ...

Some 4,000 years ago, as ancient civilizations such as the Minoans in Crete and the Neo-Sumerian Empire in Mesopotamia were shaping cultures in Europe and the Middle East, human biology itself was ...

The story of humanity is etched into our DNA. But the script is changing. For decades, many believed our biological evolution had stagnated as technology took over. Human DNA is shifting at a pace ...

Scientists at the University of Vienna, Austria, have screened great ape specimens obtained from natural history museums to identify DNA viruses. This groundbreaking study provides unique insights ...