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☆ It may look like pink Jello but scientists hope this new invention could revolutionize meat
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Lex Harvey | Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Researchers in South Korea say they’ve developed a new way to make lab-grown meat taste like the real deal. It may look like a transparent, bubble gum pink-colored disc, but scientists hope it could revolutionize the meat on people’s plates. Because the cultured meat is not yet edible, the researchers used an electronic nose, to test the aromas of the cultured meat, and see how they compare to conventional meat. Ron DeSantis banned the sale of lab-grown meat in the state in what he said was an effort to protect farmers and ranchers. In May, Huber’s Butchery in Singapore became the first retail store to sell cultured meat, a shredded chicken by Good Meat made with just 3% cultivated meat.

Persons: they’ve, Milae Lee, Lee, Maillard, ” Lee, ”, Jennifer Jacquet, Ron DeSantis, ” DeSantis, Huber’s Organizations: CNN, Hong, Yonsei University, Nature Communications, Department of Chemical, Biomolecular, Seoul’s Yonsei University, Yonsei University Livestock, UN, University of Miami, Florida Gov, US Department of Agriculture Locations: South Korea, Florida, “, Singapore

☆ How Denisovans survived and thrived on ‘the roof of the world’
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“We know that the Denisovans lived, occupied the cave and this Tibetan plateau for such a long time, we really want to know, how did they live there? Analysis of bone fragments unearthed during excavations at Baishiya Karst Cave have revealed what animals Denisovans butchered, ate and processed. Traces of Denisovan DNA found in present-day people suggest the ancient species likely once lived across much of Asia. Many of the bones recovered from Baishiya Karst Cave, like this spotted hyena vertebra, contain traces of human activities such as cut marks. Unlike Denisova Cave, which was occupied by early modern humans and Neanderthals as well as Denisovans, current evidence suggests that Denisovans were the only group of humans to live at Baishiya Karst Cave, Zhang said.

Persons: CNN — Denisovans, Denisovans, ”, Dongju Zhang, Zhang, Denisovan, Frido Welker, Xia Li, Welker, Dongju, Samantha Brown, ” Brown Organizations: CNN, Lanzhou University, Globe, Paleoanthropology, University of Copenhagen, Mass, Junior, Palaeoproteomics, Germany’s University of Tübingen Locations: Xiahe, China’s Gansu, —, China, Lanzhou, Cave, Altai, Siberia, Asia, Laos, Southeast Asia, Ganjia, Australia

☆ ‘Extraordinary’ archive of ancient brains could help shed light on mental illness
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —An undertaker turned academic, Alexandra Morton-Hayward became interested in brains — specifically how they decompose — during her former job. To understand why, the anthropologist has compiled a unique archive of information about 4,405 brains unearthed by archaeologists. No other soft tissue survived amongst the bones, which were dredged from a heavily waterlogged grave. Morton-Hayward works in a lab in Oxford, England, where she has helped build a collection of 570 ancient brains. Interestingly, many of the oldest brains are preserved in this unknown way, Morton-Hayward said.

Persons: Alexandra Morton, Hayward, “, ”, Martin Wirenfeldt Nielsen, wasn’t, He’s, ” Wirenfeldt Nielsen, Alexandra L, Morton, It’s, “ I’m Organizations: CNN, University of Oxford, Morton, South Denmark University Hospital, University of Southern, Stone Age, Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Hayward Locations: Morton, Bristol, England, Russia, Oxford, Stone, Stone Age Sweden, Sint, Ypres, Belgium, Polish

☆ Early Europeans thrived on seaweed, study of dental plaque reveals
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Virtually absent from most present-day Western diets, seaweed and aquatic plants were once a staple food for ancient Europeans, an analysis of molecules preserved in fossilized dental plaque has found. Previously when researchers uncovered evidence of seaweed, they explained its presence as a fuel, food wrapping or fertilizer. In Europe, by the 18th century, seaweed was regarded as a famine food or only suitable for animal feed. And of those, 26 samples revealed that seaweed or aquatic plants had been on the menu. The scientists said they hoped that their research would highlight the potential for including more seaweeds and freshwater plants in present-day diets.

Persons: ”, Karen Hardy, ’ Hardy, ” Hardy, Stephen Buckley, ” Buckley, Buckley Organizations: CNN, Nature Communications, University of Glasgow, University of York, Corona Locations: Europe, United Kingdom, Scotland, Spain, Lithuania, Orkney, ”, Asia

☆ DNA remnants found in fossil of 6 million year old turtle
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Researchers excavate the 6 million year old fossil remains of a sea turtle of the genus Lepidochelys near La Pina along the Caribbean coast of Panama in this handout photograph taken in 2015 and obtained by Reuters on September 28, 2023. Cadena said the only older vertebrate fossils than the newly described turtle to have been found with similar DNA remnants were of two dinosaurs - Tyrannosaurus, which lived about 66 million years ago, and Brachylophosaurus, which lived about 78 million years ago. Cadena said DNA remnants also have been reported in insects dating to tens of millions of years ago. The turtle is from the same genus - Lepidochelys - as two of the world's seven living species of sea turtles - the Kemp's ridley, the world's smallest sea turtle, and the olive ridley, Cadena said. "Each fossil, each fossil site has specific conditions of preservation that in some cases could have favored preservation of original biomolecular remains such as proteins and DNA," Cadena said.

Persons: Carlos de Gracia, today's Kemp's ridley, Edwin Cadena, Cadena, ridley, Kemp's ridley, Will Dunham, Elida Moreno, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS Acquire, Universidad del Rosario, Smithsonian Tropical Research, Pacific, Thomson Locations: La Pina, Panama, Handout, Bogota, Gulf of Mexico, Washington

☆ In a first, RNA is recovered from extinct Tasmanian tiger
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But this study marked the first time that RNA - much less stable than DNA - has been recovered from an extinct species. While not the focus of this research, the ability to extract, sequence and analyze old RNA could boost efforts by other scientists toward recreating extinct species. The Tasmanian tiger resembled a wolf, aside from the tiger-like stripes on its back. The last-known Tasmanian tiger succumbed in a Tasmanian zoo in 1936. Private "de-extinction" initiatives have been launched aimed at resurrecting certain extinct species such as the Tasmanian tiger, dodo or woolly mammoth.

Persons: Emilio Marmol Sanchez, Handout, bioinformatician Emilio Mármol Sánchez, Marc Friedländer, Love, Mármol, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Swedish Museum of, REUTERS Acquire, Tasmanian, Palaeogenetics, Genome Research, Stockholm University, SciLifeLab, Thomson Locations: Stockholm, SciLifeLab, Sweden, Australia, Tasmania, Tasmanian, Washington

☆ Scientists fully sequence human Y chromosome for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

However, over half of the sequences within the Y chromosome, the smallest and most complicated of the 46 human chromosomes, remained unknown. Now, the same group of researchers has filled in the missing information, publishing a complete Y chromosome sequence Wednesday in the journal Nature. “This new analysis will allow us to better understand the regions of the Y chromosome that have regulatory functions and may encode mRNA and proteins.”Many people begin to lose their Y chromosome in some of their cells as they age, particularly those cells that undergo rapid turnover, such as blood cells. Having a complete Y chromosome genetic reference may help scientists and doctors further explore this potential link. “However, it has been questioned whether loss of the Y chromosome is a biomarker of biological aging or whether loss of the Y chromosome has a direct effect on the health of men,” he said.

Persons: ”, Monika Cechova, Cechova, Kenneth Walsh, ” Walsh, Walsh, it’s, ” Cechova, Charles Lee Organizations: CNN —, University of California, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Human Genome Research, T2T Consortium, Jackson Laboratory, Genomic Medicine Locations: Santa Cruz

☆ Scientists solve the genetic puzzle of sex-related Y chromosome
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Males possess one Y and one X chromosome while females have two X chromosomes, with some exceptions. But until now, the Y chromosome part of the human genome had contained big gaps. In addition to identifying some additional Y chromosome genes, the researchers found that some DNA from the chromosome had been mistaken in previous studies as bacterial in nature. The first complete human genome - albeit with the Y chromosome partial - was published last year. Fully sequencing the Y chromosome adds to this.

Persons: Karen Miga, Carolyn Lagattuta, Arang Rhie, Monika Cechova, Cechova, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: University of California, UC Santa Cruz, REUTERS, Rights, Wednesday, U.S ., Genome Research, of California, UCSC, Thomson Locations: Santa Cruz , California, U.S, Handout, Santa Cruz

☆ Move Over, Men: Women Were Hunters, Too
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Katrina Miller | More About Katrina Miller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The researchers also found that women were more flexible in their approaches to hunting as they aged. Which weapons they chose, the game they chased and who accompanied them during hunts changed with age and the number of children or grandchildren the hunters had. The details about female hunting patterns were not easy to uncover, Ms. Chilczuk said; the reports often prioritized discussions of the male hunters. But the findings, when they emerged, made a certain sense, she added: If hunting was the chief means of survival, why would only men participate? “I always assumed that women did hunt probably more often than was recognized,” she said.

Persons: “, they’re, ”, Scheffler, Chilczuk, Ms, Tammy Buonasera, —, Randy Haas, We’ve Organizations: University of Alaska, Wayne State University Locations: University of Alaska Fairbanks

☆ Ancient toilets unearthed in Jerusalem reveal a debilitating and sometimes fatal disease
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The Iron Age users of two ancient toilets in Jerusalem were not a healthy bunch, according to an analysis of poop samples from the 2,500-year-old latrines. Ancient poop contains a trove of fascinating informationA stone toilet seat was excavated in 2019 south of Jerusalem in the neighborhood of Armon ha-Natziv. Archaeologists excavating the latrines took samples from sediment in the cesspit beneath each toilet seat. They found one seat south of Jerusalem in the neighborhood of Armon ha-Natziv at a mansion excavated in 2019. Cities such as Jerusalem likely would have been hot spots for disease outbreaks, and illnesses would have spread easily by traders and during military expeditions, according to the study.

☆ Scientists updated the human genome to make it more inclusive
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Scientists have pieced together a new draft of the human genome that better captures humanity’s genetic diversity. The scientists involved say it will improve our ability to diagnose disease, discover new drugs and understand the genetic variants that lead to ill health or a particular physical trait. The pangenome, a digital amalgamation of sequences that can be used to compare, construct and study other human genome sequences, is still a draft. The first draft of the human genome was released in 2001 and was only fully completed in 2022. The new pangenome reference is an amalgamation of different genomes from 47 people with ancestry from around the world.

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