Category Archives: Transhuman News

Do you have questions about your health? Your DNA may hold the answers. Your bodys genetic code that makes you unique also tells an important story about where you come from and where youre going. Consider it your own internal crystal ball, holding the clues to how youll develop.

Your DNA truly tells a story. It can show you what part of the world your ancestors came from, connecting you to communities across the world. It can help you understand why your hair is curly or straight, or why your eyes are brown or blue. It can reveal fun facts like whether you have an affinity for cilantro or whats unique about your ear wax. And, perhaps most critical, it can contain clues to why certain health conditions might run in your family.

With all of these exciting possibilities, its no wonder that DNA testing especially at-home DNA kits to learn about ancestry has been so popular in recent years. In fact, a 2019 study found that more than 26 million people had taken an at-home, mail-in DNA ancestry test offered by a handful of companies that swiftly came on the market. But did you know theres also an opportunity to test your DNA, uncover answers about your ancestry, reveal fun facts about your tastes and unique attributes, learn about your potential health risks, and help researchers uncover patterns about health that may transform the future of personalized medicine all at no cost to you?

That opportunity is available to anyone age 18 and older in the United States, simply by participating in The All of Us Research Program. A historic initiative by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to engage one million or more people from communities across the country in medical research that aims to change the face of health care as we know it. All of Us is building one of the largest, most diverse databases to inform thousands of studies on a variety of health conditions. By involving participants from all demographics, including many who have historically been underrepresented in medical research, All of Us aims to change health care from the one-size-fits-all approach it often is today to a more individualized approach for tomorrow.

How? One way is through DNA. In addition to answering a wide range of surveys with questions about your health, your family history, the environment you live in participants also have the benefit of sharing biosamples, such as blood, urine and saliva, to help researchers uncover the answers only your DNA can provide. Doing so not only provides you the participant with valuable information about your own personal health and family history, but it also creates infinitely valuable opportunities for medical researchers to know the risk factors for certain diseases and figure out which treatments work best for people of different backgrounds.

But All of Us can only achieve this mission if it involves, you guessed it, All of Us. If you have questions about your health and your familys ancestral history, the next step to find the answers may be by joining the hundreds of thousands of people across the United States already aiding All of Us researchers in their mission to revolutionize precision medicine. A healthier future for all of us begins by taking an in-depth look at your ancestral past; your DNA may hold the key. Unlock the door to a healthy future today. Learn more at the All of Us website.

All of Us is a service mark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2021

WebMD does not endorse any specific product, service, or treatment.

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Find Answers in Your DNA (Sponsored) - WebMD

The DNA Doe Project is a group of dozens of volunteers using DNA and family trees to identify the unidentifiable.

PHOENIX There are an estimated 40,000 unidentified human remains in the United States.

That's 40,000 people who have no names and no closure for families missing their loved ones.

They had a life, they had a story," said Carrien Binder, a genetic genealogist with the DNA Doe Project. They deserve to have their name back.

The project began in 2017. It's made up of 40 to 60 unpaid volunteers trying to figure out who these people are.

Our goal is to identify Jane and John Doe's using genetic genealogy, Binder said.

The idea is to get a DNA sample from the "Doe" and then compare it with publicly sourced DNA databases like GenBank. The project then looks for relatives and begins forming a family tree.

We can use really distance matches like fifth cousins, third cousins, and fourth cousins to build up family trees and make an identification, Binder said.

The project works in groups trying to puzzle together a tree. Sometimes identifications come together quickly. There is a DNA hit that is a close relative. Other times the puzzle can take years, looking for that missing branch to help identify a John or Jane Doe.

"This is my main hobby. I dont watch a lot of Netflix. I dont have a lot of time for other things. But it is really fulfilling and satisfying and it scratches that mystery-solving itch." Binder said.

In the last few months, The DNA Doe Project identified two previously unidentified people: A woman found in downtown Phoenix in 2017 and a murder victim found on baseline road in 1983.

A lot of people assume if someone is a John or Jane Doe, no one is looking for them. And I have found that is never true.

In four years, the project has identified more than 70John and Jane Doe's. Binder said at least a third of those identifications happened in the last year.

"They deserve to be recognized as a whole person, with a family with hobbies," Binder said, "I think we can give them a part of that when we restore their name"

If you want to help the program you can always donate.

Also if you do have DNA results from at-home DNA tests like 23andMe and ancestry type groups, you can share them with a publicly sourced site to give them more potential matches.

Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12 News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.

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There are thousands of unidentified remains. Meet the volunteer organization trying to identify them - 12news.com KPNX

Woolly mammoths may have survived in North America thousands of years longer than scientists previously thought, vials of Alaskan permafrost reveal.

The hairy beasts might have persisted in what is now the Yukon, in Canada, until around 5,000 years ago 5,000 years longer than experts previously estimated, a new study suggests. That conclusion comes from snippets of mammoth DNA that were found in vials of frozen dirt that had been stored and forgotten in a laboratory freezer for a decade.

Related: Mammoth resurrection: 11 hurdles to bringing back an ice age beast

"Organisms are constantly shedding cells throughout their life," said study lead author Tyler Murchie, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Anthropology at McMaster University in Ontario. For instance, He explained thata person sheds roughly 40,000 skin cells per hour, on average, meaning we are constantly ejecting bits of our DNA into our surroundings.

That's also true of other life-forms; nonhuman animals, plants, fungi, and microbes are constantly leaving microscopic breadcrumb trails everywhere. Most of this genetic detritus doesn't linger in the environment, though. Soon after being discarded, the vast majority of the DNA bits are consumed by microbes, Murchie said. The fraction of the shed DNA that does remain might bind to a small bit of mineral sediment and be preserved. Though only a tiny proportion of what was initially shed remains centuries later, it can nevertheless provide a window into a vanished world teeming with strange creatures.

"In a tiny fleck of dirt," Murchie told Live Science, "is DNA from full ecosystems."

Murchie analyzed soil samples taken from permafrost in the central Yukon. Many of the samples dated to the Pleistocene-Holocene transition (14,000-11,000 years ago), a period marked by rapidly changingclimatic conditions in which many large mammals such as saber-toothedicats, mammoths and mastodons vanished from the fossil record.

The DNA fragments in Murchie's samples were small often no larger than 50 letters, or base pairs. However, on average, he was able to isolate roughly 2 million DNA fragments per sample. By analyzing DNA from soil samples of known ages, he indirectly observed the evolution of ancient ecosystems over this turbulent period.

The main advantage to studying ancient DNA is that researchers can observe organisms that tended not to fossilize well. "An animal has only one body," said Murchie, and the odds of it fossilizing are not that great. On top of that, you have to find it. But that same animal constantly ejected innumerable amounts of DNA into the environment throughout its lifetime.

The soil samples which span a period of time from 30,000 years ago to 5,000 years ago revealed that mammoths and horses likely persisted in this Arctic environment much longer than previously thought. Mammoths and horses were in steep decline by the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, the DNA data suggest, but they didn't disappear all at once due to changes in climate or overhunting.

An earlier study, published in October in the journal Nature, suggested that some mammoths survived on isolated islands away from human contact until 4,000 years ago. However, the new study is the first to determine that small populations of mammoths coexisted with humans on the mainland of North America well into the Holocene, as recently as 5,000 years ago.

. Megafauna extinctions from this era have largely been blamed on one of two explanations: human paleo-hunters or climate catastrophe, said lead author Hendrik Poinar, an evolutionary geneticist and director of the McMaster Ancient DNA Centre.

However, the new study "changes the focus away from this two-pitted debate that has plagued [paleontology] for so long," Poinar said.

The team's research provides evidence that the extinction of North American megafauna is much more nuanced, he said. There's no doubt that the animals were under pressure from both human hunters and a rapidly changing climate. The question is, "how much were they hunted and whether or not that was truly the tipping point," Poinar told Live Science.

Analyzing ancient DNA from dirt has the potential to tell us a lot about ancient life; Poinar and Murchie said Arctic permafrost is ideal for these types of ancient DNA studies because freezing preserves ancient DNA very well. But that might not be possible forever: As ice in the Arctic melts due to rapid increases in temperature, "we're going to lose a lot of that life history data," Murchie said. "It's just going to fall away before anyone gets a chance to study it."

This study was published Dec. 8 in the journal Nature Communications.

Originally published on Live Science.

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Woolly mammoths and humans coexisted in North America much longer than experts thought - Livescience.com

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The ultimate gift is the gift of healthfor you and for your friends and family. But your body is a complex machine, and fine-tuning your health is not as straightforward as, say, fine-tuning your car. It can be pretty overwhelming. Luckily, optimizing your health isnt an independent journey. And personalized guidance on understanding whats best for your body can come with a dedicated support system. Enter InsideTracker.

Founded in 2009 by top scientists at MIT, Harvard, and Tufts in the fields of aging, genetics, and biology, InsideTracker is a truly personalized nutrition and performance system. You can choose from several, customizable plans that analyze data from your blood, DNA, wearable fitness devices (like Garmin and FitBit, and lifestyle to deliver a science-backed Action Plan to help guide you toward optimal health.

By taking a deeper look inside, you can see objective metrics that tell the story of your health and uncover advanced physiological analysis into how your body is performing. Most people are accustomed to occasional, generic blood work that may come at the request of your doctor, but for seeking a more comprehensive view of your health, InsideTracker provides personalized plans that go well beyond a traditional blood test.

Several InsideTracker plans include a blood draw. InsideTracker makes this process simple and streamlined. Most customers book an appointment at one of the 2,000 Quest Diagnostics testing sites across the US. Or you can also get tested right from your home by scheduling an appointment with a certified phlebotomist (just click include mobile blood draw at checkout). Additionally, you can upload your blood data from a previous test for even more convenience.

After your blood is tested, youll be prompted to complete a questionnaire asking about your lifestyle habits. Be as specific as possible, because InsideTracker takes all those factors into consideration when providing you with recommendations.

Lastly, you will select the health goal that matters most to youlike heart health, endurance, strength & power, or immunity to name a few.Based on the analysis of your test results and questionnaire, InsideTrackers proprietary algorithm creates a highly personalized Action Planprioritizing food, supplement, and exercise recommendations that align most with your selected goal. Youll gain access to the science behind why these are the best actions for your personal well-being.

With InsideTracker, your path to optimal health becomes measurable, trackable, and manageable. Once you have your test results, the InsideTracker app will become your central place to access your data, see your analysis, and actively track your progress. And with routine testing (recommended every 3-6 months) you can see exactly how the changes youve made are impacting your internal biomarkers.

There are several plans to choose from, depending on the level of analysis you are looking to receive. Check out the options below to find one that fits with your health and wellness goals. . And right now, you can save 25% on your order when you use code INSIDETWENTYFIVE at checkout!

With InsideTracker, youll have everything you need to add years to your lifeand life to your years.

For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!

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Gift Someone The Ability to Unlock Their DNA This Holiday With InsideTracker - Men's Journal

Due to the increasing cases of COVID-19 in most cities of India, you will neither be able to celebrate Christmas with your friends nor will you be able to have a New Year party. Christmas and New Year's party has been banned in many big cities of the country including Delhi. Even in weddings, you can no longer invite more than 200 guests. But if you are holding a political rally, you can also invite 2 lakh people to that. In many places, you cannot go to a mall or a government office without taking both doses of the vaccine. But if you go to a political rally, neither you will be asked about the mask nor will you be asked for information about vaccination. If you have a big party or you want to invite thousands of people to the wedding, then declare yourself a politician and your program as an election rally. By doing this, you can invite as many people as you want.

In the last two years, COVID-19 has changed our lives. People working in offices are doing work from home, online hearings are being held in courts. Online classes are going on in schools. The customs after birth and death are also happening online. Sports like IPL and Olympics are being organized without spectators. And movies are being released on OTT instead of theatre. But there is one area where COVID-19 has not made any difference at all and that is politics. Even now, elections are being held as before, voting is also happening in the same way and the attitude of the politicians is also the same.

In the last two years, neither the elections have changed, nor the process of elections has changed nor the manner in which the politicians' rallies have changed. At present, massive campaigning is going on for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections. And all the parties are holding rallies by mobilizing thousands of people. But there is no restriction on these rallies. More than 40 state-level elections have been held in India in the last two years and next year's calendar is also full from the election dates.

In the year 2022, elections to the Legislative Assembly are to be held in seven states of Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Manipur. During this time, even if the cases of coronavirus increase in these states, perhaps, the process of elections and elections will not change at all.

Unfortunately, no more than 200 guests can come in a wedding ceremony today, but in election rallies, 20,000 people can easily gather at one place. You can't party in a restaurant or pub with more than 50 people, but you can go to a crowd of thousands at an election rally. You cannot go to a shopping mall or shop without a mask and vaccination. But you can easily go to the rallies of leaders, where no one will ask you for a mask or ask for vaccination.

That is, the situation has become such that today if someone is getting married in your house and you call people in that marriage saying that they are organizing an election rally then probably the administration and governments will not take any action against you. But if you have invited more than 200 guests to the wedding or party with 50 people on Christmas then you can also be arrested under criminal sections and can also be fined up to a maximum of Rs 2 lakh.

However, we are not saying this thing only for India. Politics is the only area in the whole world that has not changed.

In the last two years, since the pandemic arrived, elections have been held in 146 countries of the world. Out of these, there are 124 countries where national and state-level elections have been held. That is, elections were held for the post of President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister and Governor and in these elections, the leaders held rallies among the crowd, Due to this, the cases of coronavirus also increased in these countries. For example, Presidential elections were held in America last year and due to these elections, there was a tremendous explosion of COVID-19. But despite this, the politics there did not change.

Elections were also held in South Korea, Mongolia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Croatia despite increasing cases of infection. And when people died from this disease, these leaders did not even take moral responsibility for it. Rather, these leaders became silent when it came to taking responsibility.

That is, the world has told you that in COVID-19, markets can be closed for common people, marriage can also stop, jobs can also be done from home, customs of birth and death can also be changed and movies can also be released online instead of cinema halls. That is, everything can be changed and stopped for you. But nothing can stop for politics and politicians. Whether coronavirus remains or not, politics will remain the same as it was before.

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DNA Special: COVID-19 changed everything but politics - DNA India

A hapless burglar who targeted two locations an hour apart was snared after CCTV filmed him pressing his face against a porthole window to peer inside.

Liam Lingham, 26, of Laburnum Grove, Runcorn, and an unknown accomplice first struck at The Food Group on Dalton Court in Astmoor Industrial Estate at 10.50pm on Thursday, March 11.

Kate Morley, prosecuting at Chester Crown Court today, said CCTV showed the pair approach and this defendant could be seen with his face up at a porthole window.

Forensic tests were later able to match DNA retrieved from the glass to Lingham.

READ MORE: Man stabbed to death was 'loving dad of two married to childhood sweetheart'

After searching inside a van without finding anything, the burglars forced entry to an office and made an untidy search and swiped between seven and 10 Euros from on top of a desk.

At 9am the next morning, it was discovered that the same two intruders had entered a dock office at Bridgewater Motor Club on Victoria Road at about 12.10am

The building, described as a shipping container, wasnt secured as access but the burglars forced an internal door and dragged a cabinet out of place to force it open, revealing two cash tins inside, from which they stole about 200-250 and left.

Repair costs for the club were estimated at about 200 plus labour.

After his arrest by Cheshire Police on September 20, Lingham was also charged in connection with a burglary at Halton Play Council resource centre on Mersey Road, Runcorn, on June 27 but in light of the two guilty pleas on October 19 to the other burglaries, prosecutors decided not to seek a trial in respect of the Mersey Road allegation.

Ms Morley told the court Lingham, who brought a large packed bag with him to court and whose female supporter sat weeping in the public gallery for much of the hearing, had 22 convictions for 49 offences.

These spanned dwelling burglaries, handling stolen goods offences, theft from a vehicle, taking a vehicle without consent, possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, aggravated vehicle taking, and theft.

The most recent of those was in 2018.

Judge Simon Berkson sought details of the tag Lingham has been on since September 21 as part of his deliberations.

Paul Wood, defending, said his client deserved credit for his guilty pleas and had complied with his curfew conditions.

He cited a positive pre-sentence report but acknowledged Linghams negative antecedent history.

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Mr Wood said Lingham was a father with children and has developed a positive attitude, particularly following the recent birth of a baby.

He said the public interest could be best served by a suspended sentence with conditions, and urged the court to give his client a last chance.

Judge Berkson concurred and although he accepted Lingham was a "prolific" offender, sentenced him to 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, with a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement and 120 hours of unpaid work plus curfew.

He told Lingham he had a terrible record but offered him a chance to mend his ways.

Judge Berson said: Since committing that offence and being arrested you havent committed any other crime and have complied with a stringent curfew and come before the court with a positive pre-sentence report and a suggestion you can stay out of trouble.

Lingham lit a cigarette and beamed with joy after leaving court.

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Burglar left DNA on porthole window he was filmed peering through - Liverpool Echo