Tag Archives: genetics
snow leopard scat
Proving yet again that I am the go-to writer for all your poop news needs, I wrote a brief item that appeared on ScienceNOW yesterday about studying snow leopard diet through DNA analysis of their feces. The study found that … Continue reading
giant marine virus
For ScienceNOW this week I wrote about a giant virus that lives in the ocean. Viruses are generally thought of as teeny little things that can’t do much for themselves, but this one has 730,000 base pairs of DNA – … Continue reading
are you my mother?
So, it turns out, “Thoroughbred” isn’t just something you say about horses that have a known lineage; it’s a particular breed. There are tons of horse breeds, like Clydesdale and Barb and Arabian and Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse. Thoroughbreds are … Continue reading
sled dogs are sled dogs
A new genetic study finds that Alaskan sled dogs, the mutts that pull sleds, are actually their own breed. Despite coming in all sizes, coat lengths, and ear shapes. The people who breed Alaskan sled dogs feel free to mix … Continue reading
lucky clover
Some scientists at the University of Georgia are working on what sounds like a kind of goofy project: making ornamental clovers. They swear they’re very pretty plants – lush green, with red and white markings. And they fix nitrogen, so … Continue reading
stress and death
For this week’s issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education, I wrote a story about a molecular link between stress and death. The story is here. Ok, there’s a catch: You have to be a subscriber to read it, and … Continue reading
test tube babies
Last weekend I wrote a blog post for ScienceNOW about whether “test tube” babies are healthy. Answer: Basically, yes, but the oldest one is only 31, so there’s no way to know about health effects that show up later in … Continue reading
making the world more colorful
For today’s Welt I wrote about colorblind monkeys – scientists cured them of their colorblindness with gene therapy. “Cured” is kind of a silly word in this case. The males of this species naturally don’t see red and green, so … Continue reading
dread potato disease
For today’s paper, I wrote about late blight – you may know it better as potato blight, the disease that caused the Irish Potato Famine. It’s still a huge problem for potato and tomato farmers, so a bunch of scientists … Continue reading
snorkel genes
Part of the deal with this fellowship is that I’m also supposed to do my regular work. So, here it is: a news story about rice genetics. I know, it sounds boring, but it’s totally not! Modifying rice is a … Continue reading