DNA

An Indiana teen died in 1866. How did her skull end up in an Illinois house's walls?

11:30am October 25, 2024

DNA tests identified a skull found during home renovations in 1978 as that of an Indiana teen who died after childbirth in 1866. Authorities say Esther Granger was likely the victim of grave robbing.

Launched in 1990, a major goal of the Human Genome Project was to sequence the human genome as fully as possible. In 2003, project scientists unveiled a genome sequence that accounted for over 90% of the human genome — as complete as possible for the technology of the time.

Science

The dubious consent question at the heart of the Human Genome Project

3:01am July 15, 2024

The Human Genome Project was a massive undertaking that took more than a decade and billions of dollars to complete. For it, scientists collected DNA samples from anonymous volunteers who were told the final project would be a mosaic of DNA. Instead, over two-thirds of the DNA comes from one person: RP11. No one ever told him. Science journalist Ashley Smart talks to host Emily Kwong about his recent investigation into the decision to make RP11 the major donor — and why unearthing this history matters to genetics today.

Read Ashley's full article in Undark Magazine here.

Questions or ideas for future episodes? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.

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After 41 years, a missing woman has been identified. Police want to know how she died

5:01am June 19, 2024

by Jonathan Franklin

The mom whose remains were discovered in 1983 in what's now Lake Forest, Calif., was positively identified Friday by authorities as Maritza Glean Grimmett, says the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

A photo of Ajmal Khan on his way to Western Europe to find work, taken by a travel companion and sent by Khan to his family in Afghanistan via WhatsApp. The 17-year-old drowned when crossing the Drina River in Tuzla, the third largest city in Bosnia-Herzegovina — part of a common route for migrants as they headed toward wealthier European countries.

Health & Safety

An Afghan migrant, age 17, drowned in a Bosnian river. Here's how citizens responded

7:57pm April 27, 2024

On the risky journey from the Global South to Europe, migrants often perish. In a town in Bosnia-Herzegovina, near a river where dozens have drowned, citizens seek to provide closure to the families.

The California two-spot octopus can edit the RNA in its brain on a massive scale, likely allowing it to keep a clear head in both warm and cool waters.

Science

Octopuses tweak the RNA in their brains to adjust to warmer and cooler waters

4:22pm June 08, 2023

by Ari Daniel

The California two-spot octopus can edit the RNA in its brain to produce different proteins as ocean temperatures fluctuate, a new study finds.

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Microscope images of urinary tract cells from mice that were not given a UTI (naive) and those that were susceptible to recurrent UTIs (sensitized). Cells are outlined in green and the DNA in each cell glows blue. The cells susceptible to recurrent UTIs are smaller.

Why do some people get UTIs over and over? A new report holds clues

4:12pm April 13, 2023

by Max Barnhart

A new study looks at how urinary tract infections can affect DNA. And down the road that could lead to new treatments for the millions who get UTIs.

Tom Curran, brother of 1971 murder victim Rita Curran, faces reporters during a news conference, Tuesday Feb. 21, 2023, at the Burlington Police Department in Burlington, Vt., after police announced they had identified the man who killed Curran's sister.

National

A discarded cigarette butt and DNA tests solve a 52-year-old murder of Vermont woman

2:59am February 22, 2023

by The Associated Press

A discarded cigarette found near the body of a Vermont school teacher in her apartment nearly 52 years ago helped lead investigators to a neighbor who they say strangled her, Vermont police said.

Gregor Johann Mendel (1822 - 1884) the priest and botanist whose work laid the foundation of the study of genetics.

Science

Why scientists dug up the father of genetics, Gregor Mendel, and analyzed his DNA

10:31am December 30, 2022

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The year 2022 was the 200th anniversary of the birth of Gregor Mendel. He's known as the father of genetics, so scientists exhumed Mendel's body and examined his DNA.

A Neanderthal skeleton on display in 2018 at the Musee de l'Homme in Paris. Researchers extracted DNA from bones found in Russia to learn more about how their communities were organized.

Genetic sequencing gives us the first-ever look at a Neanderthal clan

12:43pm October 20, 2022

by Geoff Brumfiel

"You know, this image of Neanderthals being brutes, is not quite accurate," says paleogenticist Laurits Skov. "The more we learn about them, the more like humans they appear to be."

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Using DNA extracted from teeth of people who died during and after the Black Death pandemic, researchers were able to identify genetic differences between those who survived and who died from the virus.

Health & Safety

How Black Death survivors gave their descendants an edge during pandemics

6:22pm October 19, 2022

by Michaeleen Doucleff

Up to 50% of Europeans died from the plague. Now a new study shows that those who lived had a protective gene mutation they passed on to bolster immunity — but it comes at a cost.

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