DNA – News – Science – The New York Times

Remains of unidentified soldiers who died aboard battleship Oklahoma during 1941 Pearl Harbor attack are being reexamined and subjected to DNA testing in order to confirm their identities; severe damage done to bodies on Oklahoma, one of two ships in battle damaged beyond repair, has made identification process difficult. MORE

Hannah Landenmark study in journal PLoS Biology calculates global biodiversity using new metric of amount of DNA found on Earth; study reports Earth contains around 50 trillion trillion trillion DNA base pairs. MORE

David Rosenberg, who was given up for adoption by his mother Margaret Erle Katz in 1962, relocated her with help of a DNA testing kit and the Internet, only to have less than a month with her before he succumbed to thyroid cancer; growing number of adoptees are locating birth parents using similar tools. MORE

Atlanta jury awards more than $2 million to Atlas Logistics Group Retail Services workers who were required to submit to DNA samples in effort to identify out who had been defecating in warehouse. MORE

DNA matching Richard W Matt and David Sweat, murderers who escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York, is found in cabin 15 miles from prison; Matt and Sweat were discovered missing from prison on June 6. MORE

DNA evidence extracted from elephant dung, tissue and hair could help researchers to identify origins of illegal ivory and target poachers. MORE

Researchers have created fuller picture of how Ebola virus spread and evolved during 2014 outbreak by sequencing genomes of viruses from over 400 patients in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. MORE

Study published in journal Nature finds that Kennewick Man, 8,500-year-old skeleton that was discovered in Washington state riverbed, has no European DNA, and that he was likely most closely related to Native Americans; remains became subject of controversy as various groups attempted to claim them. MORE

London-based skincare store GeneU uses DNA testing to match treatments to each customer. MORE

Two studies in journal Nature present largest examinations ever done of ancient European DNA, extracted from 170 skeletons found in countries from Spain to Russia; both studies show Europeans descend from three groups who entered area at different stages in history. MORE

Atlanta judge rules that Atlanta warehouse owner Atlas Logistics Group Retail Services violated Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act when it tested DNA of two men to determine if they had been leaving piles of feces around workplace; decision in unusual case shows scope of law goes beyond its original intent. MORE

Mat Johnson Lives essay describes taking DNA test in order to clear up question of how black he really is, and having one done for his mother as well; notes that there are issues of identity that cannot be resolved by finding out details of one's racial heritage. MORE

Researchers are making progress in using immunotherapy to fight cancer, or using DNA mutations inherent in immune system to beat cancer at its own game; questions remain, however, as to why treatments work better against some cancers than others and why some patients do not respond. MORE

National Institute of Standards and Technology announces new reference standards that could be used to ensure accuracy of DNA testing; marks important step towards new era in the use of genetic medicine. MORE

Profile of Dr Jennifer A Doudna, biochemist at University of California, Berkeley, who is fighting for control of potentially highly profitable intellectual property rights to what is known as the Crispr-Cas9 genome editing technique; Doudna, who helped discover the process, is also actively working to deepen scientific community's understanding of bioethics concerns that have arisen from the revelation of this new way to alter DNA. MORE

Dr Love Dalen study published online in Current Biology reports that researchers have sequenced DNA of woolly mammoth and have determined that species most likely died out on an isolated island from inbreeding. MORE

Law enforcement authorities arrest Joseph Giardala at Los Angeles International Airport and return him to New York to face charges after DNA evidence links him to 1995 rape case in West Village; case is latest effort by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr to use DNA to solve cold cases. MORE

Chinese researchers try and fail to permanently alter DNA in human embryos; widely-predicted failure follows outcry from scientific community, which had called for halt to research until it could be proved safe and until ethical debate could proceed; researchers were attempting to alter DNA in manner that would be passed on to future generations. MORE

DNA-matching web sites have brought to forefront stories of babies illegally sold by Gertrude Pitkanen of Butte, Mont, to adoptive couples through the 1950s; baby-sellers like Pitkanen, midwife who also performed illegal and sometimes fatal abortions, are part of mid-20th century American subculture; so-called Gertie's Babies, who have found relatives through sites, say they are unique as they never found living biological parents due to how securely secrets were kept. MORE

DNA study published in online digital library bioRxiv reports that geneticists in Great Britain have found Armenians are mix of ancient populations that existed from 3000 to 2000 BC; period confirms date given by fifth century historian Movses Khorenatsi for founding of Armenia. MORE

Scientific community is engaged in debate about whether majority of any given genome's DNA actually serves purpose; recent research has caused some to question idea, and debate is in many ways latest skirmish in intellectual battle that has been going on for 200 years. MORE

Study in journal Science concludes that wheat has existed in Great Britain for 8,000 years, according to DNA evidence, suggesting that it made its way from Neolithic farmers of Southern Europe to Mesolithic hunter-gatherers of Britain. MORE

Scientists are developing tools that allow investigators to create facial image of suspect using DNA found at crime scene; process, known as forensic DNA phenotyping, has raised concerns among some who question technology's accuracy or warn that it could increase racial profiling or lead to privacy violations. MORE

Study in journal Current Biology shows that mice embryos injected with bits of human DNA grow brains 12 percent larger than embryos injected with chimpanzee genes, demonstrating role that gene sequence HARE5 plays in human brain development. MORE

Scientists are finding that they can confirm presence of animal species in a particular location and track their movements by collecting animal's DNA that was shed in environment; DNA samples may persist in area for weeks, allowing researchers to detect invasive and resurgent species, animal diversity, and, perhaps eventually, to measure animal populations. MORE

Pres Obama plans to request hundreds of millions of dollars to fund research into medical treatments attuned to specific patients' DNA and other characteristics; some experts consider so-called 'personalized medicine' or 'individualized medicine' to be forefront of field. MORE

California's First District Court of Appeal strikes down state law requiring collection of DNA from anyone arrested on suspicion of committing a felony, citing state Constitution's ban on unreasonable search and seizure. MORE

Nobel laureate James D Watson, a pioneer in DNA science, will auction his prize medal and donate much of proceeds to educational institutions; move is part of Watson's effort to redeem himself after making offensive remarks about race in 2007 that tarnished his reputation. MORE

DNA analysis of bite marks on harbor porpoises shows that gray seals are often responsible for wounds. MORE

Research shows that obtaining DNA swab from fang mark of snake bite can accurately identify type of snake, helping medical professionals to administer correct antivenin. MORE

Office of Chief Medical Examiner holds New York City Missing Persons Day to help identify the roughly 1,200 bodies they have received since about 1990 that they have been unable to identify; relatives gather to offer DNA samples, which will be used to create a corresponding forensic number that is then crosschecked against genetic information in a city database and others maintained by municipalities across the country. MORE

Study in journal Nature reports that scientists have reconstructed genome of man who lived 45,000 years ago, by far the oldest genetic record ever obtained from modern humans; research provides new clues to expansion of modern humans from Africa into Europe and Asia, as well as strong evidence that early humans interbred with Neanderthals. MORE

Experts working to identify the victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 say they have positively identified 173 individuals from DNA samples. MORE

Food and Drug Administration approves first screening test for colon cancer that uses patients DNA to help spot potentially deadly tumors and growths. MORE

Italian police link Massimo Giuseppe Bossetti to 2011 murder of 13-year-old Yara Gambirasio after embarking on country's largest DNA dragnet, taking genetic samples from nearly 22,000 people; DNA testing also unexpectedly revealed that Bossetti was the illegitimate son of a man who had died in 1999, setting off debate over risks of privacy violations in criminal investigations involving DNA searches. MORE

Dr Bryan Sykes study in Proceedings of the Royal Society B performs first rigorous genetic analysis of three dozen hair samples that collectors claim came from undiscovered living humanoids, such as the Yeti or Sasquatch; study reveals that hairs came from range of known creatures, from humans to dogs. MORE

New fertility treatment could avoid certain hereditary diseases by altering genetic makeup of egg, raising issues of whether or not such a process is ethical or even safe. MORE

Study published in journal Nature Communications reports that researchers are able to determine where strain of malaria originated by using DNA 'bar code' of 23 short snips from genes of parasites. MORE

Researchers at University of California, San Francisco, use DNA sequencing to pinpoint, within 48 hours, what had been causing 14-year-old Joshua Osborn's brain to swell for weeks; breakthrough holds great promise for diagnostics, but experts say it will be years before method is in widespread use; case is reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. MORE

Adam Liptak Sidebar column; South Carolina Supreme Court will decide whether to hear appeal of Billy Wayne Cope, who claims his confessions in 2001 rape and murder of his daughter were coerced; DNA tests identified a different man, James Sanders, as the perpetrator. MORE

Scientists at Scripps Research Institute create first living organism with artificial DNA, taking significant step toward altering the fundamental alphabet of life; accomplishment could lead to new antibiotics, vaccines and other products, though a lot more work needs to be done before this is practical; research, published online in journal Nature, is bound to raise safety concerns and questions about whether humans are playing God. MORE

Study in journal PLoS One reports that Harvard researchers generated hemihelix, helix that changes direction midway, while working with complex rubber band; unusual shape is variation on helix often associated with DNA strand. MORE

Op-Ed article by evolutionary geneticist Svante Paabo warns against using sequenced genomes of Neanderthals to re-create Neanderthal individuals; contends from an ethical perspective such an idea should be condemned, and argues that using stem cells to create cells and tissues in test tubes for research is far more ethically defensible and technically feasible. MORE

Scientists have revealed that unusual repeating DNA sequence occurring next to gene in common bacterium are part of sophisticated immune system used to fight viruses; molecular system, known as Crispr, may provide scientists with power to edit genome and make precise changes to DNA of humans, essentially rewriting code of life. MORE

Municipal administration in Naples, Italy, decides to take DNA samples of dog waste on the sidewalks so that they may track down owners who do not pick up after their dogs; cutting-edge campaign is attempt to address widespread urban problem. MORE

British scientists will grind up some of King Richard IIIs bones to try to sequence his genetic code, about a year and a half after discovery of his corpse. MORE

British scientists will grind up some of King Richard IIIs bones to try to sequence his genetic code, about a year and a half after discovery of his corpse. MORE

Anne Eisenberg Novelties column holds that as technology becomes more sophisticated, genomic sequencing will inevitably expand into the world of newborns, but the process has both medical and ethical implications. MORE

Two studies show how the legacy of Neanderthals endures 30,000 years after their extinction, finding Neanderthal genes in skin and hair that may have helped humans evolve; findings appear in journals Nature and Science. MORE

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DNA - News - Science - The New York Times