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As part of their research published in Communications Biology, they also identified the earliest known person with Jacob's syndrome (characterized by an extra Y chromosome—XYY) in the Early Medieval Period, three people with Klinefelter syndrome (characterized by an extra X chromosome—XXY) across a range of time periods, and an infant with Down Syndrome from the Iron Age.Most cells in the human body have 23 pairs of DNA molecules called chromosomes, and the sex chromosomes are typically XX (female) or XY (male), although there are differences in sexual development. Aneuploidy occurs when a person's cells have an extra or missing chromosome....

A group of international researchers has uncovered evidence of a super rare genetic condition that gives men an extra X chromosome, reporting the oldest clinical case of Klinefelter Syndrome to date.The evidence comes from a 1,000-year-old skeleton from Portugal.Klinefelter Syndrome is a rare genetic condition where individuals are born with an extra copy of the X chromosome, occurring in approximately one in 1,000 genetic-male births...The team began by analysing genetic information obtained from a skeleton found in northeastern Portugal that had been radiocarbon dated to the 11th century by researchers from the University of Coimbra in Portugal...The researchers say the...

ESCONDIDO - He looks like your standard alley cat, nothing to write home about. But officials at the Escondido Humane Society say he is a rare specimen, “a once-in-a-lifetime” cat like none they have ever seen before. They call him Phinny, for phenomenon. It wasn't until they were ready to spay Phinny that they found out he needed neutering instead. And that's how he got his name. Phinny, you see, is a male tortoiseshell, a tricolor cat. He's not quite the missing link in the cat world, but is undoubtedly a rare quirk of nature, for reasons of genetics. “In...