Category Archives: Transhuman News

In Brief Scientists are now able to retrieve and analyze the DNA of ancient human ancestors from sediment, opening up a world of possibility for exploring early human evolution in the absence of fossils and bones. The Dirt on DNA

German scientists just made a major breakthrough in sequencing the DNA of our ancient ancestors. While researchers have long relied on painstaking work and pure good luck to uncover the fossilized remains of our predecessors, a new technique has allowed scientists to pull DNA from something far more abundant: dirt.

Scientists have understood for years that genetic material from a decomposing entity whether animal, plant, or human is released into the surrounding sediment and can remain there for a long time. The problem is theres a lot of it and its all mixed up. Parsing out only human DNA deposits from even a tablespoon of dirt has traditionally been very difficult to do.

Led by Viviane Slon, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, have developed a process for retrieving and sequencing those DNA deposits, and they are now the first researchers to recover ancient human DNA directly from sediment. To do so, they created molecules that would target and extract DNA from mammals, specifically mitochondrial DNA, which is more abundant.The team presented its findings in the journal Science last week.

Slons team shines a new light onthe Denisovans,a cousin to our Neanderthal ancestors that we know very little about. So far, scientists have only recovered a fossilized finger bone and a couple of teeth, both of which came from a single cave in Siberia. If the technique for analyzing DNA from dirt becomes a regular part of field work, theres the potential for discovering more evidence of this ancient ancestor in places without fossils. It will teach us more about what early humans were doing outside of the cavesin which they lived (and apparently died), including migratory information.

For paleontologists and archeologists, the prospect of no longer having to rely quite so heavily on the exciting but relatively rare discovery of fossils will likely come as a relief. Even when they are able to find a fossil, putting it through the paces for sequencing can compromise its integrity as a specimen, making researchers no friend to museum curators or civilizations looking to preserve the remains of their ancient ancestors.

Perhaps most exciting of all, though, is the fact that being able to retrieve DNA in the absence of bones could add new branches to humanitys family tree, giving researchers insight into early humans that we have yet to find skeletal evidence of.

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Scientists Can Now Extract Ancient Human DNA From 240,000-Year ... - Futurism

KTVB , KTVB 5:59 PM. MDT May 03, 2017

DNA sketch of Angie Dodge's killer (Photo: Idaho Falls Police)

IDAHO FALLS -- Two decades after 18-year-old Angie Dodge was raped and stabbed to death in her Idaho Falls apartment, police are leveraging DNA technology to get their first tentative look at the killer's face.

The DNA profile sketch, released Wednesday, was made possible by Parabon Nanolabs, a Virginiabased DNA technology company. Although no match has been found for the DNA on Dodge's body after the 1996 slaying, the company was able to use the killer's genetic material to determine his likely hair, eye and skin color.

One of the profiles shows the suspect at about age 25, while the other shows how he would look age-progressed to his forties - believed to be the killer's current age.

According to the sketch, the man who killed Dodge has brown eyes, brown or blond hair, and a normal body mass index.The suspect is white with skin that is fair or very fair, and of northern European ancestry, the profile suggests.

MORE: Tapp released from prison after 20 years

The information released in the DNA snapshot may not be 100 percent accurate, Parabon Nanolabs says. But the Idaho Falls Police Departmetnt believes it may get detectives a step closer to finding the killer who has eluded justice in Dodge's death.

In a statement, Idaho Falls Police Chief Mark McBride said detectives are committed to getting an answer, no matter how long it takes.

The Idaho Falls Police Department has spent more time and money investigating this crime than any other crime in the history of this department, he said. But the resources directed to this case are quintessential to solving it, and we are determined to bring a resolution to this heinous crime. We owe it to the Dodge family and our citizens and therefore, this case will remain as high of a priority as it has been since 1996.

Police say two DNA profiles were collected at the crime scene, indicating that more than one person was involved in the attack. Under current technology, only one of the two samples was viable to be tested.

That testing was integral in getting former Idaho Falls resident Chris Tapp released from prison after 20 years behind bars. Tapp, who prosecutors had said held Dodge down while another man sexually assaulted and killed her, has long maintained he was coerced into signing a false confession.

RELATED: Looking at DNA technology used in Tapp case, release

Tapp's convictions were not overturned, but a judge resentenced him to time served and ordered him released from prison in March amid doubts about whether he was connected to the crime. Even the murdered teen's mother, Carol Dodge, had joined activists and the Idaho Innocence Project in calling for Tapp's release.

In an interview with KTVB after his release last month, Tapp said he still did not want anyone to forget about the cold case.

Everybody is excited and happy that I'm released and free, but also on the other side of the coin theyre forgetting the most important thing: There's still an unsolved murder," he said.

Idaho Falls Police and Channel Blend of Idaho Falls have set up a 24-hour tipline for anyone who recognizes the man in the DNA profile sketch or knows anything about the murder.

The tipline number is 18009271239. Callers can leave tips anonymously, or an provide a name and contact information for a callback from detectives. Every tip will be followed up on by detectives, police say.

Police say the department has already spent more than $43,000 in evidence extraction, analysis, DNA profiling, and travel to follow up on leads over the past four years, as well as staffing and overtime assigned to the case.

"This is a testament of our commitment and desire to utilize available and cuttingedge technologies to finding our killer," McBride said. "We are hopeful and excited this new phenotype sketch will help us garner new leads into the Dodge homicide."

2017 KTVB-TV

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DNA provides sketch of Idaho Falls cold-case killer | KTVB.COM - KTVB

Some Mothers Boy, killed in a train accident nearly a century ago and buried as an unknown in a Georgetown cemetery, is finally coming home to rest beside his mother and father.

Results of DNA tests are about a month away, but the Haynes family in Pulaski County seems assured Frank A. Haynes, interred for 96 years, is one of them. They are planning to bring his scant remains, exhumed in March, back home to be buried beside his parents in the Newell cemetery at Bronston.

Haynes, 19, was killed in a train accident in Georgetown April 1, 1921. His head apparently was mutilated by wheels on the train as he and a companion attempted to switch directions by jumping from one train to another.

Some newspapers in the area identified Haynes a short time after his death, but no official identification was made and he was buried as an unknown. Communication during the early 20th century was mainly word of mouth and distance between the accident site in Georgetown and his family in Bronston was light years apart.

Someone, somebody, put up a tombstone inscribed: Some Mothers Boy/Killed/April 1, 1921/Interred/April 14, 1921/Contributed by Friends.

Haynes death was legend among members of the Haynes family during the past century. His many relatives in Bronston, Burnside and Somerset knew he was killed by a train; the story was told time and time again. However, they didnt know his burial place until recent publicity surrounding an investigation by J. Todd Matthews, director, Case Management and Communications, National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).

Efforts by Matthews and NamUs generated publicity that informed relatives in this area where the body was buried. Initially, as recent stories surfaced, Haynes age was given as 17. However, Frank M. Haynes, a nephew who lives at 51 Muncey Lane, Somerset, said family Bible records list the dead mans birthdate as March 2, 1902, making him 19 when he was killed.

My father, Fred, told me the story many times, said Frank M. Haynes. He (Frank A. Haynes) and another boy jumped a train in Burnside. For some reason, at Georgetown, they decided to switch directions.

Both boys jumped from the northbound train to a southbound train (Royal Palm). The other boy made the jump. Frank didnt. The train ran over his head, probably leaving him unidentifiable, said Frank M. Haynes.

The dead boys companion reportedly was detained in Somerset for questioning. However, his name was not recorded and nobody knows who he was or where he went.

Matthews was in Somerset Tuesday to collect female DNA samples from Mamie Hahn, a niece who lives in Twin Lakes subdivision at Bronston. Originally, plans were to take a DNA sample from Margaret Haynes Bell, another niece from Burnside. However, Matthews explained it was necessary to get the sample from Hahn on the dead boys maternal side. Members of the family gathered Tuesday in the Wal-Mart parking lot where DNA and FRS (Family Reference Samples) were taken.

A family spokesperson said Richard New, manager of Southern Oaks Funeral Home, will provide an appropriate container in which to bury the few bones and teeth that remain in the grave after 96 years.

Frank A. Haynes was one of 12 children of Frank Haynes Jr. and Mignona Haynes of Bronston.

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DNA is helping solve 96-year-old mystery - Commonwealth Journal's History

May 4, 2017 by Matt Williams, Universe Today An interdisciplinary team from MIT (with support from NASA) is seeking to create an instrument that can performing in-situ test for life. Credit: setg.mit.edu

In 2015, then-NASA Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan stated that, "I believe we are going to have strong indications of life beyond Earth in the next decade and definite evidence in the next 10 to 20 years." With multiple missions scheduled to search foe evidence of life (past and present) on Mars and in the outer solar system, this hardly seems like an unrealistic appraisal.

But of course, finding evidence of life is no easy task. In addition to concerns over contamination, there is also the and the hazards the comes with operating in extreme environments which looking for life in the solar system will certainly involve. All of these concerns were raised at a new FISO conference titled "Towards In-Situ Sequencing for Life Detection", hosted by Christopher Carr of MIT.

Carr is a research scientist with MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) and a Research Fellow with the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital. For almost 20 years, he has dedicated himself to the study of life and the search for it on other planets. Hence why he is also the science principal investigator (PI) of the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Genomes (SETG) instrument.

Led by Dr. Maria T. Zuber the E. A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics at MIT and the head of EAPS the inter-disciplinary group behind SETG includes researchers and scientists from MIT, Caltech, Brown University, arvard, and Claremont Biosolutions. With support from NASA, the SETG team has been working towards the development of a system that can test for life in-situ.

Introducing the search for extra-terrestrial life, Carr described the basic approach as follows:

"We could look for life as we don't know it. But I think it's important to start from life as we know it to extract both properties of life and features of life, and consider whether we should be looking for life as we know it as well, in the context of searching for life beyond Earth."

Towards this end, the SETG team seeks to leverage recent developments in in-situ biological testing to create an instrument that can be used by robotic missions. These developments include the creation of portable DNA/RNA testing devices like the MinION, as well as the Biomolecule Sequencer investigation. Performed by astronaut Kate Rubin in 2016, this was first-ever DNA sequencing to take place aboard the International Space Station.

Building on these, and the upcoming Genes in Space program which will allow ISS crews to sequence and research DNA samples on site the SETG team is looking to create an instrument that can isolate, detect, and classify any DNA or RNA-based organisms in extra-terrestrial environments. In the process, it will allow scientists to test the hypothesis that life on Mars and other locations in the solar system (if it exists) is related to life on Earth.

To break this hypothesis down, it is a widely accepted theory that the synthesis of complex organics which includes nucleobases and ribose precursors occurred early in the history of the solar system and took place within the Solar nebula from which the planets all formed. These organics may have then been delivered by comets and meteorites to multiple potentially-habitable zones during the Late Heavy Bombardment period.

Known as lithopansermia, this theory is a slight twist on the idea that life is distributed throughout the cosmos by comets, asteroids and planetoids (aka. panspermia). In the case of Earth and Mars, evidence that life might be related is based in part on meteorite samples that are known to have come to Earth from the Red Planet. These were themselves the product of asteroids striking Mars and kicking up ejecta that was eventually captured by Earth.

By investigating locations like Mars, Europa and Enceladus, scientists will also be able to engage in a more direct approach when it comes to searching for life. As Carr explained:

"There's a couple main approaches. We can take an indirect approach, looking at some of the recently identified exoplanets. And the hope is that with the James Webb Space Telescope and other ground-based telescopes and space-based telescopes, that we will be in a position to begin imaging the atmospheres of exoplanets in much greater detail than characterization of those exoplanets has [allowed for] to date. And that will give us high-end, it will give the ability to look at many different potential worlds. But it's not going to allow us to go there. And we will only have indirect evidence through, for example, atmospheric spectra."

Mars, Europa and Enceladus present a direct opportunity to find life since all have demonstrated conditions that are (or were) conducive to life. Whereas there is ample evidence that Mars once had liquid water on its surface, Europa and Enceladus both have subsurface oceans and have shown evidence of being geologically active. Hence, any mission to these worlds would be tasked with looking in the right locations to spot evidence of life.

On Mars, Carr notes, this will come down to looking in places there there is a water-cycle, and will likely involve some a little spelunking:

"I think our best bet is to access the subsurface. And this is very hard. We need to drill, or otherwise access regions below the reach of space radiation which could destroy organic materiel. And one possibility is to go to fresh impact craters. These impact craters could expose material that wasn't radiation-processed. And maybe a region where we might want to go would be somewhere where a fresh impact crater could connect to a deeper subsurface network where we could get access to material perhaps coming out of the subsurface. I think that is probably our best bet for finding life on Mars today at the moment. And one place we could look would be within caves; for example, a lava tube or some other kind of cave system that could offer UV-radiation shielding and maybe also provide some access to deeper regions within the Martian surface."

As for "ocean worlds" like Enceladus, looking for signs of life would likely involve exploring around its southern polar region where tall plumes of water have been observed and studied in the past. On Europa, it would likely involve seeking out "chaos regions", the spots where there may be interactions between the surface ice and the interior ocean.

Exploring these environments naturally presents some serious engineering challenges. For starters, it would require the extensive planetary protections to ensure that contamination was prevented. These protections would also be necessary to ensure that false positives were avoided. Nothing worse than discovering a strain of DNA on another astronomical body, only to realize that it was actually a skin flake that fell into the scanner before launch!

And then there are the difficulties posed by operating a robotic mission in an extreme environment. On Mars, there is always the issue of solar radiation and dust storms. But on Europa, there is the added danger posed by Jupiter's intense magnetic environment. Exploring water plumes coming from Enceladus is also very challenging for an orbiter that would most likely be speeding past the planet at the time.

But given the potential for scientific breakthroughs, such a mission it is well worth the aches and pains. Not only would it allow astronomers to test theories about the evolution and distribution of life in our solar system, it could also facilitate the development of crucial space exploration technologies, and result in some serious commercial applications.

Looking to the future, advances in synthetic biology are expected to lead to new treatments for diseases and the ability to 3-D print biological tissues (aka. "bioprinting"). It will also help ensure human health in space by addressing bone density loss, muscle atrophy, and diminished organ and immune-function. And then there's the ability to grow organisms specially-designed for life on other planets (can you say terraforming?)

On top of all that, the ability to conduct in-situ searches for life on other Solar planets also presents scientists with the opportunity to answer a burning question, one which they've struggled with for decades. In short, is carbon-based life universal? So far, any and all attempts to answer this question have been largely theoretical and have involved the "low hanging fruit variety" where we have looked for signs of life as we know it, using mainly indirect methods.

By finding examples that come from environments other than Earth, we would be taking some crucial steps towards preparing ourselves for the kinds of "close encounters" that could be happening down the road.

Explore further: The search for extraterrestrial life in the water worlds close to home

The discovery of seven exoplanets around a star 40 light years from our Sun has raised the possibility that they could harbour life.

Chile's Atacama desert may seem to contain little besides red-grey rocks and sandbut scientists are busy searching here for clues to life in a place it much resembles: Mars.

Researchers have invented a range of instruments from giant telescopes to rovers to search for life in outer space, but so far, these efforts have yielded no definitive evidence that it exists beyond Earth. Now scientists ...

A report on the potential science value of a lander on the surface of Jupiter's icy moon Europa has been delivered to NASA, and the agency is now engaging the broader science community to open a discussion about its findings.

Astrobiologist alumna Alexandra Pontefract, PhD'13 (Geology), knows finding DNA on the Red Planet will be no easy feat. But it is possible. What's more, if DNA is found, it's not far-fetched to think it would be proof of ...

Earlier this week, NASA hosted the "Planetary Science Vision 2050 Workshop" at their headquarters in Washington, DC. Running from Monday to Wednesday February 27th to March 1st the purpose of this workshop was to ...

(Phys.org)A "hot Jupiter" exoplanet transiting a rapidly rotating star has been discovered jointly by WASP and KELT survey, a new study reveals. The newly found alien world, designated WASP-167b/KELT-13b, is several times ...

Much like the eclectic group of space rebels in the upcoming film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has some amazing superpowers, specifically when it comes to observing innumerable galaxies flung ...

A new movie sequence of images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows the view as the spacecraft swooped over Saturn during the first of its Grand Finale dives between the planet and its rings on April 26.

(Phys.org)Russian scientists have presented the first results of solar observations made with the new radioheliograph of the Siberian Solar Radio Telescope (SSRT). The Siberian Radioheliograph (SRH), has recently commenced ...

VISTA's infrared capabilities have now allowed astronomers to see the myriad of stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy much more clearly than ever before. The result is this record-breaking imagethe biggest infrared ...

A mysterious gamma-ray glow at the center of the Milky Way is most likely caused by pulsars the incredibly dense, rapidly spinning cores of collapsed ancient stars that were up to 30 times more massive than the sun. That's ...

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Building rovers that can detect life and sequence DNA on other worlds - Phys.Org

WGN-TV

Thinking of DNA testing? Which one is the best for you? WGN-TV An Ancestry DNA kit runs $99. 23 and Me is the same price. And Family Tree DNA is usually $79, but it was on sale for $59. Both the Ancestry and 23 and Me tests ask the user to fill a tube with spit then shake it and bag it. The Family Tree test is a ...

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Thinking of DNA testing? Which one is the best for you? - WGN-TV

Western spotted skunks striped skunks' smaller cousins that stand on their "hands" to blast their smelly defensive spray are helping scientists piece together a picture of how ancient climate change shaped animal populations millions of years ago, and could provide clues for how present climate change may affect animals alive today.

These endearing and widely distributed skunks have been around for about 1 million years and live in a range of habitats across western North America. But even though the skunks all belong to one species,Spilogale gracilis, genetic differences divide them into three distinct groups that are known as clades, and scientists have puzzled over what might have driven these changes in the skunks' DNA. [The 12 Weirdest Animal Discoveries]

Researchers investigating these adorable little stinkers recently discovered the likely scenario that led to these genetic divisions ancient climate change during the Pleistocene ice age, as glaciers divided skunk populations into habitats isolated from each other.

Unlike the bold bandsof white furlining the black backs of striped skunks, western spotted skunks' markings curve and twine like the walls of a maze, with a single large spot marking the center of their heads. They are the smallest of the North American skunks, with males measuring about 16 inches (41 centimeters) in length and weighing about 22 ounces (630 grams), according toa species descriptionby the Montana Natural Heritage Program and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Western spotted skunks perform "handstands" just before they spray.

Because their distribution is so broad from British Columbia to northern Mexico, and from California to the central Great Plains groups of skunks could potentially be separated from each other by manynatural geographical barriers, such are rivers and mountain ranges. Scientists wanted to know whether geography could explain how skunk populations separated from each other and evolved unique genetic signatures, or if other land-shaping factors might have played a part, study lead author Adam Ferguson, collection manager of mammals at the Field Museum of Natural History, told Live Science.

"We were interested in whether we would see if genetic breaks are associated with older events major biogeographic events, like the Sierra, the Rockies, the Rio Grande or with climate change," Ferguson explained.

In general, skunks aren't well-studied, probably because working with them comes with an odious olfactory price "even their tissues stink," Ferguson said. In fact, during each season of fieldwork, he puts aside what will be "the skunk clothes," an outfit that sometimes must be permanently retired when the season ends, he said.

Study lead author Adam Fergusun wearing impromptu Kleenex nose plugs not to block the smell of his study subject, but because he had a cold.

For the study, the scientists sampled genetic data from 97 skunks representing a range of habitats and climates in thesouthwestern U.S.But the genetic differences that separated them didn't map to geographic features. For example, two skunk populations divided by mountains were mostly identical on a genetic level, the study authors found.

By modeling climate conditions during theice ageglacial maximum the period when ice covered the most land mass the researchers discovered that advancing glaciers could have effectively isolated habitat "refuges" from each other, allowing genetic differences to evolve in separated animal groups.

Their findings help to fill in the picture of how ancient climate change affected not only the western spotted skunks, but possibly other animals as well large and small that shared the skunks' habitats across the southwestern U.S. And this could help scientists predict how ecosystems and their inhabitants might be affected by present-day climate change, Ferguson said.

"If we have data from rodents, bats, small carnivores, large carnivores, reptiles, birds, we can say, 'How as a whole would theSonoran Desert communityrespond potentially to climate change across the board?' You can make these general predictions of how climate change might affect an entire community not just a single species," he told Live Science.

The findings were published online today (May 3) in the journalEcology and Evolution.

Original article onLive Science.

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Handstanding Skunks' DNA Shaped by Ancient Climate Change - Live Science