Inbreeding Neanderthals Interbred with Denisovans

DNA sequencing of an ancient toe has revealed long-term inbreeding amongst a Siberian-based Neanderthal population.  The sequencing results also reveal Neanderthals, and a sister group, Denisovans, met and reproduced in the Late Pleistocene between 12,000 and 126,000 years ago.

Scientists discover second, secret DNA code

Scientists have now discovered a second DNA code that suggests the body uses the same alphabet to speak two different languages.  The newfound genetic code was written right on top of the DNA code scientists had already cracked. Rather than concerning itself with proteins, this one instructs the cells on how genes are controlled.

First documented tool use by reptiles

Though the use of objects as hunting lures is very rare in nature, a study says at least two species of crocodiles and alligators use twigs and sticks to lure birds.

Scientists decode oldest DNA of extinct human

Researchers say they have decoded a key part of the DNA for a 400,000-year-old extinct human related to a species of ancestral humans called Denisovans.

Colours help chameleons avoid conflict

Male chameleons use bright and fast-changing colours to give opponents a two-stage warning against fighting them for territory or females.

3,000 year old wine cellar found

Archaeologists have unearthed what they say may be the oldest and largest wine cellar in the Near East, containing 40 jars. Each would have held 50 litres of strong, sweet wine — wine flavoured with mint, honey and a dash of psychotropic resins.

Scientists identify brain area integral to bird intelligence

A brain region known as the nidopallium caudolaterale may be responsible for some of birds’ strategic, intelligent behaviour.

Strong evidence of jet at Milky Way centre

Astronomers have found strong evidence that the huge black hole at the centre of our Milky Way galaxy is shooting out a jet of high-energy particles.

Find said to confirm time of Buddha’s life

Archaeologists say they have dug up evidence of a sixth-century-B.C. structure at the Buddha’s birthplace — the first archaeological material linking his life to a specific century.

Neanderthal living space

Neanderthals organized their living spaces in ways that today’s people would recognize as familiar, scientists say. The finding suggests new similarities between modern humans and Neanderthals, our close evolutionary cousins who died out an estimated 30,000 years ago.

New species of giant clam identified

A colourful new species of giant clam, thought to have been another well-known species, has been discovered on reefs in Western Australia and the Solomon Islands.

Environmental factors found to alter gene expression

Lab mice trained to fear a particular smell can transfer the impulse to their unborn sons and grandsons through a mechanism in their sperm, a study reveals.  The research claims to provide evidence for the concept of animals "inheriting" a memory of their ancestors' traumas, and responding as if they had lived the events themselves.  It is the latest find in the study of epigenetics, in which environmental factors are said to cause genes to start behaving differently without any change to their underlying DNA encoding.

See also

Learn­ed experiences can be transferred through genetic structures — not by changes to genes themselves, but rather, to how they’re “marked” by other molecules.

Chasmosaurus: a horned, plant-eating a relative of Triceratops

A newly unearthed fossil of a baby dinosaur is so complete that it appears to hop out of the rock in which it was entombed. The dinosaur is now believed to be among the best preserved dinosaurs in the world and it is the first known baby Chasmosaurus belli fossil.