HS-LS1-1
Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the structure of DNA determines the structure of proteins which carry out the essential functions of life through systems of specialized cells.
- Fossils
Neandertal toe contains human DNA
DNA from a 50,000-year-old Neandertal woman’s toe bone shows humans left a mark on the ancient species — and much earlier than scientists had thought.
- Animals
Gene editing swats at mosquitoes
A new genetic technique can render insects that spread malaria unable to reproduce.
- Agriculture
New gene resists our last-ditch drug
Antibiotic resistance continues to grow. Now, scientists have found a tiny loop of DNA that resists a drug doctors use as a last line of defense.
- Humans
News Brief: Ancient teeth point to Neandertal relatives
New analyses of some teeth found in Siberia indicate that Neandertal cousins known as Denisovans lived there for at least 60,000 years. That would have had them around the same place as modern humans — and at nearly the same time.
- Environment
Wildlife forensics turns to eDNA
Environmental DNA, or eDNA, tells biologists what species have been around — even when they’re out of sight or have temporarily moved on.
- Genetics
Gene editing creates buff beagles
Scientists showed that a potentially useful new gene-editing tool can work in dogs. It created a pair of adorable, muscular puppies. But the goal is to use it for other research purposes.
- Chemistry
Trio gets chemistry Nobel for figuring out DNA repair
Three researchers have won the 2015 Nobel Prize in chemistry for working out how cells fix damaged genetic material.
- Health & Medicine
Chikungunya wings its way north — on mosquitoes
A mosquito-borne virus once found only in the tropics has adapted to survive in mosquitoes in cooler places, such as Europe and North America.
- Genetics
DNA in ivory pinpoints elephant poaching hot spots
Thousands of elephants have been killed for their ivory tusks. A new study used DNA in ivory to trace where most of the killings happen.
- Microbes
Explainer: What is a virus?
Viruses cause many of the world’s common diseases. These germs reproduce by hijacking the cells of their host.
- Life
How DNA is like a yo-yo
When not in use, DNA coils tightly. But it must uncoil for the cell to ‘read’ its genes. Physical forces affect how easily that happens, new data show.
- Chemistry
Cooking up life for the first time
The basic components for life could have emerged together nearly 4 billion years ago on the surface of Earth, chemists report.
