79 Items Tagged

Genetics

In Nara City, Japan, sika deer have been protected for over a thousand years due to their sacred status in Shintoism.

Decoding the Sacred Genetics of Japan's Sika Deer

The deer of Nara Park are part of a millennium-old genetic lineage—does that make them more deserving of protection?

Roxanne Hoorn April 9, 2024

Snapdragon genes give this genetically-modified tomato its shocking hue.

Would You Eat This Purple Tomato?

This fruit owes its luminous violet shade to snapdragon flower DNA.

Diana Hubbell March 27, 2024

Turns out there's been a whole other species slithering quietly by.

It’s Official: There’s Another ‘World’s Largest Snake’

Even actor Will Smith saw it slither through the Amazon.

Olivia Young February 29, 2024

New Clues Emerge About the Fluffy Dogs Once Bred for Their Wool

The story of these distinctive doggos is emerging from ancestral knowledge of the Coast Salish peoples and a new genetic study of the pelt of a pup named Mutton.

Roxanne Hoorn December 14, 2023

Data from NASA’s Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite, or ICESat, show elevation across Antarctica. The low elevations on the left side show how the Weddell and Ross Seas were one connected.

Octopuses (and Their DNA) Suggest Antarctica Will Melt Again

Two geographically separate populations of cute cephalopods once mated a very long time ago.

Frank Jacobs, Big Think June 9, 2023

Pando, called simply The Tree by those who know it best—and love it most—is a single organism that covers an area larger than 100 football fields.

Pando As You've Never Seen It Before

The Utah aspen grove is one of the world's oldest and largest living things. It's finally getting its close-up.

Amiee Maxwell May 16, 2023

Medieval buildings at Songa Mnara, one of many coastal Swahili ports and settlements that connected East Africa to Arabia, Persia, China, and Southeast Asia.

Ancient DNA Restores the Origin Story of the Swahili People

New research complicates both modern and colonial-era ideas about the medieval East African civilization.

Chapurukha Kusimba and David Reich April 24, 2023

San Francisco, California

Albino Redwood

Under the shadow of its towering parent tree, a rare specimen of sequoia produces ghostly white leaves.

tktk

A Caribbean ‘Cow’ Tooth Could Solve the Mystery of the Chincoteague Ponies

A surprise discovery from Haiti may finally reveal how some famous feral horses got to a distant barrier island.

Gemma Tarlach August 16, 2022

Permanently Closed

Katalin Karikó Mural

Budapest, Hungary

Katalin Karikó Mural

The Hungarian biochemist whose research helped develop mRNA-based vaccines for Covid-19.

Herman the Bull

Leiden, Netherlands

De stal van Stier Herman

The world's first transgenic bovine has been preserved at the museum where he spent his final years—though his old stable is now a cafe.

Spotted skunks perform an impressive handstand to appear twice their size and ward off would-be predators.

Wanted: Sweet Skunks That Do Sick Stunts

Scientists' creative approach to collecting spotted skunks led to a new family tree for the handstanding li'l stinkers.

Ashley Stimpson September 22, 2021

A field of northwestern Spain's beloved grelos is just one of the many permutations of <em>Brassica rapa</em>.

The Deep Roots of the Vegetable That ‘Took Over the World’

A study digs up the origin of the single species that gives us turnips, bok choy, broccoli rabe, and more.

Gemma Tarlach June 11, 2021

During examination of Peder Winstrup and his coffin a few years ago, researchers discovered the remains of a stillborn fetus, wrapped in linen and placed between the Swedish bishop's lower legs.

The Mystery of the Mummified Bishop and the Fetus in His Coffin

Remains hidden with this Swedish “founding father” likely belonged to his grandson, but questions linger.

Gemma Tarlach April 16, 2021

A burrowing bettong, also known as the boodie, in the Australian Outback.

How Far Should Humans Go to Help Species Adapt?

An Australian project to help threatened marsupials avoid predatory cats is one of a host of 'assisted evolution' efforts.

Atlas Obscura March 16, 2021

These singing dogs were recently found near a gold mine in Papua.

Found: The Rare Singing Dogs of New Guinea, In the Wild

The distant cousin of the dingo had been hiding out in the island’s highlands.

Isaac Schultz September 10, 2020

According to recent genetic analyses, "forest cats" may have arrived on the island as far back as 1,000 years ago.

The True Origin Story of Madagascar's 'Forest Cat'

Turns out this big, striped lemur-eater didn't come from mainland Africa.

Jennifer S. Holland March 23, 2020

The Hypacrosaurus nestling died about 75 million years ago, and its microscopic skull material was immaculately preserved.

Found: Possible Traces of DNA, in a Fossilized Dino Skull

This ancient hadrosaur has some microscopic secrets.

Isaac Schultz March 5, 2020