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  • California Sisters Missing for 36 Years Found Alive as Search Shifts to Mother's Killer

    10/01/2025 5:25:23 PM PDT · by nickcarraway · 11 replies
    NBC San Diego ^ | September 30, 2025 | Dennis Romero
    The Mohave County Sheriff's Office in Arizona discovered the sisters alive and well in California through DNA, and now it wants justice for whoever killed their mother.Two California sisters missing for 36 years were found alive and well in their home state with the help of familial DNA, authorities investigating their case in Arizona said. When they were discovered in August, Jasmin and Elizabeth Ramos were living under new names given by foster parents who raised them in Ventura County, California, unaware of their missing status. Now authorities want to find the killer of their mother, Marina Ramos of Bakersfield,...
  • Saskatoon police identify century-old remains of 'woman in the well' found in 2006

    10/01/2025 6:29:48 AM PDT · by lowbridge · 39 replies
    cbc.ca ^ | September 28, 2025 | Lisa Risom
    Saskatoon police say they have solved a mystery that goes back more than a century. The remains of an unknown female were discovered in a well shaft in Saskatoon's Sutherland neighbourhood in 2006. Now, almost 20 years later, she has been identified as Alice Spence (nee Burke), a woman of Irish ancestry who was about 35 years old at the time of her death. Investigators believe Alice, who lived in what was the town of Sutherland at the time, died of foul play sometime from 1916 to 1918. -snip The case sat for nearly 20 years without a lead until...
  • Who Was Robert E. Brashers? What to Know About Yogurt Shop Murders Suspect

    09/27/2025 12:59:59 PM PDT · by kennedy · 24 replies
    Newsweek ^ | September 27, 2025 | Mand Taheri
    After decades of dead ends, Austin, Texas, police on Friday named deceased serial killer Robert Eugene Brashers as the suspect in the city’s infamous yogurt shop murders. The announcement follows decades without answers in the December 1991 killings of four teenage girls—Amy Ayers, Eliza Thomas, and sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison—at the “I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt!” shop in Austin. The girls, aged 13, 15, and 17, were bound, gagged, and shot, before the shop was set on fire. The breakthrough comes with notable advancements in forensic DNA testing and renewed attention from an HBO docuseries about the case. Not...
  • After more than 3 decades, investigators believe the Yogurt Shop Murders have been solved

    09/27/2025 7:42:00 AM PDT · by TheDon · 14 replies
    KVUE ^ | September 25, 2025 | Britny Eubank
    AUSTIN, Texas — More than three decades after four teen girls were found dead inside a burned-down yogurt shop in North Austin, investigators say they finally know who killed them. Law enforcement sources confirmed to KVUE Senior Reporter Tony Plohetski that the 1991 Yogurt Shop Murders have been solved using genetic genealogy technology. The perpetrator has been identified as American serial killer Robert Eugene Brashers, who died by suicide in 1999. Brashers’s DNA profile has previously been connected with a 1990 murder in Greenville, South Carolina; the 1997 rape of a 14-year-old in Memphis; and the 1998 double murder of...
  • Scientists Discover Two New Bass Species Hiding in Plain Sight

    09/23/2025 6:50:53 AM PDT · by Red Badger · 37 replies
    Scitech Daily ^ | September 23, 2025 | University of Georgia
    The Altamaha bass has light gold scales with olive margins, darker brown blotches on their sides and orange on the edges of their fins. Credit: Special ============================================================================ Bartram’s and Altamaha bass, first identified in the 1980s, are now officially recognized as distinct species. Researchers at the University of Georgia have formally identified two previously unrecognized species of black bass in a newly published study: Bartram’s bass and Altamaha bass. Though descriptions of the two species are new, sightings of the fish are not. Ecologist Bud Freeman first encountered Micropterus pucpuggy, now known as Bartram’s bass, in the 1980s. A couple...
  • A New Cat Color Is Defying Genetic Expectations

    09/17/2025 6:13:31 AM PDT · by Diana in Wisconsin · 57 replies
    Popular Mechanics ^ | March, 2025 | jackie Appel
    You’ve probably heard of spooky black cats, chaotic orange cats, and distinguished-looking tuxedo cats. If you’re really into cats, you might have even lesser-known color variants like seal point and ticked tabby. But there’s officially a new cat color in town— salmiak, or ‘salty liquorice.’ You can see one here. The pretty black, white, and grey shade—named for a popular snack food in Finland, where this coat color has been making itself known—is thanks to a fur strand that starts off black near the root, but grows whiter and whiter out towards the tip. The coat was first spotted in...
  • Unexpected “Hybrid Ancestry” of This Superfood Staple Reveals Its Secret—and Surprisingly Complex—Genetic History

    09/16/2025 12:42:17 PM PDT · by Red Badger · 25 replies
    The Debrief ^ | September 04, 2025 | Micah Hanks
    Despite being a staple food for millions of people worldwide, the genetic secrets of the sweet potato have long remained a mystery to scientists. That is, until now. New research has revealed the complexities behind the genetic makeup of these tubers, widely considered to be a superfood for their health benefits. What science reveals about them is surprising, revealing a previously unknown evolutionary history involving a “hybrid ancestry” behind the beloved vegetables. The research, led by Professor Zhangjun Fei at the Boyce Thompson Institute, was recently published in Nature Plants. The Hybrid Ancestry of Sweet Potatoes Sweet potatoes carry six...
  • Russians revive Ice Age flower from frozen burrow

    02/20/2012 8:05:56 PM PST · by LibWhacker · 49 replies · 3+ views
    AP ^ | 2/20/12 | VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
    MOSCOW (AP) -- It was an Ice Age squirrel's treasure chamber, a burrow containing fruit and seeds that had been stuck in the Siberian permafrost for over 30,000 years. From the fruit tissues, a team of Russian scientists managed to resurrect an entire plant in a pioneering experiment that paves the way for the revival of other species. The Silene stenophylla is the oldest plant ever to be regenerated, the researchers said, and it is fertile, producing white flowers and viable seeds. The experiment proves that permafrost serves as a natural depository for ancient life forms, said the Russian researchers,...
  • Deep freeze dealt death knell to bison (Ice Age)

    11/25/2004 7:25:47 PM PST · by Fatalis · 34 replies · 1,338+ views
    CBC News Online ^ | 11/25/2004
    WASHINGTON - Hunters may not be to blame for the decline in bison populations, according to a new study that points the finger at climate change. Scientists had thought bison were hunted to the brink of extinction when people first crossed an ice-free bridge between what's now Alaska and Siberia. Two subspecies of bison now live in North America. Now researchers say bison DNA shows their genetic diversity began to decline more than 20,000 years before humans reached eastern Beringia in what is now North America, according to archeological evidence.Scientists at Oxford University analysed DNA samples from 442 fossils from...
  • Cavegirls were first blondes to have fun

    02/26/2006 11:56:29 AM PST · by wagglebee · 158 replies · 2,660+ views
    London Times ^ | 2/26/06 | Roger Dobson and Abul Taher
    THE modern gentleman may prefer blondes. But new research has found that it was cavemen who were the first to be lured by flaxen locks. According to the study, north European women evolved blonde hair and blue eyes at the end of the Ice Age to make them stand out from their rivals at a time of fierce competition for scarce males. The study argues that blond hair originated in the region because of food shortages 10,000-11,000 years ago. Until then, humans had the dark brown hair and dark eyes that still dominate in the rest of the world. Almost...
  • Mammoths may roam again after 27,000 years

    08/16/2006 6:25:32 PM PDT · by annie laurie · 52 replies · 957+ views
    Times Online (UK) ^ | August 15, 2006 | Mark Henderson
    BODIES of extinct Ice Age mammals, such as woolly mammoths, that have been frozen in permafrost for thousands of years may contain viable sperm that could be used to bring them back from the dead, scientists said yesterday. Research has indicated that mammalian sperm can survive being frozen for much longer than was previously thought, suggesting that it could potentially be recovered from species that have died out. Several well-preserved mammoth carcasses have been found in the permafrost of Siberia, and scientists estimate that there could be millions more. Last year a Canadian team demonstrated that it was possible to...
  • Mammoths may roam again after 27,000 years

    08/15/2006 4:46:58 AM PDT · by thiscouldbemoreconfusing · 182 replies · 2,880+ views
    Times on line/ Drudgereport ^ | Aug. 15, 2006 | Mark Henderson, Science Editor Times on line
    BODIES of extinct Ice Age mammals, such as woolly mammoths, that have been frozen in permafrost for thousands of years may contain viable sperm that could be used to bring them back from the dead, scientists said yesterday. Research has indicated that mammalian sperm can survive being frozen for much longer than was previously thought, suggesting that it could potentially be recovered from species that have died out. Several well-preserved mammoth carcasses have been found in the permafrost of Siberia, and scientists estimate that there could be millions more. Last year a Canadian team demonstrated that it was possible to...
  • Ice Age Imprint Found On Cod DNA

    11/14/2007 2:53:47 PM PST · by blam · 31 replies · 66+ views
    Science Daily ^ | 11-14-2007 | University of Sheffield.
    Ice Age Imprint Found On Cod DNA ScienceDaily (Nov. 14, 2007) — An international team of researchers, led by the University of Sheffield, has demonstrated how Atlantic cod responded to past natural climate extremes. The new research could help in determining cods vulnerability to future global warming.Atlantic cod. Professor Bigg of the University of Sheffield said: "This research shows that cod populations have been able to survive in periods of extreme climatic change, demonstrating a considerable resilience. However this does not necessarily mean that cod will show the same resilience to the effects of future climatic changes due to global...
  • Japan’s Prince Hisahito is the first male royal to reach adulthood in 40 years. He may be the last

    09/06/2025 2:29:17 PM PDT · by E. Pluribus Unum · 11 replies
    AP News ^ | Updated 3:09 AM CDT, September 6, 2025 | MARI YAMAGUCHI
    TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prince Hisahito is the first male royal to reach adulthood in 40 years. Many people in Japan worry he could be the last.The elaborate palace rituals to formally recognize Hisahito as an adult on Saturday are a reminder of the bleak outlook for the world’s oldest monarchy. Much of this comes down to its male-only succession policy and dwindling numbers.Hisahito is second in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne and is likely to become emperor one day. After him, however, there is nobody left, leaving the Imperial family with a dilemma over whether they should reverse a...
  • Ancient DNA Pinpoints Culprit Responsible for World's First Pandemic

    09/08/2025 7:14:56 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 24 replies
    Archaeology Magazine ^ | September 5, 2025 | editors / unattributed
    The world's first pandemic, known as the Plague of Justinian after the sitting Byzantine emperor, killed an estimated 25 to 100 million people between a.d. 541 and 750... historical sources from the period suggest that it may have begun around Pelusium, Egypt, before spreading rapidly throughout the Middle East and the Mediterranean world. According to a statement released by the University of South Florida (USF), researchers participated in an interdisciplinary study that has uncovered -- for the first time -- direct genomic evidence pinpointing the bacterium Yersinia pestis as the cause of the plague. The team sequenced genetic material from...
  • DNA Analysis Leads to Individual Twin in 1987 Rape Cold Case

    09/06/2025 7:10:44 PM PDT · by nickcarraway · 13 replies
    Forensic Magazine ^ | September 03, 2025 | Michelle Taylor
    For the first time in the U.S., an identical twin has been convicted of a crime based on DNA analysis. The breakthrough came from Parabon Nanolabs, who’s scientists used deep whole genome sequencing to identify extremely rare “somatic mutations” that differentiated Russell Marubbio and his twin, John. The results were admitted as evidence in court, making last week’s conviction of Russell in the 1987 rape of a 50-year-old woman a landmark case. Case background On Dec. 19, 1987, the victim, a 50-year-old woman, was working as a clerk at a gas station in Woodbridge, Va. She left the store to...
  • What Are These Creepy Creatures? Scientists Close In on Century-Old Crustacean Mystery

    09/04/2025 5:48:46 AM PDT · by Red Badger · 5 replies
    Scitech Daily ^ | September 03, 2025 | Elaina Hancock, University of Connecticut
    Facetotectans (aka y-larvae) have been a mystery since their discovery in the 1800s. Scientists are unsure of what they grow up to become, but we now know where these crustaceans fit in the tree of life. This image shows a cypris larvae, or y-cyprid. Credit: Niklas Dreyer Y-larvae, mysterious crustaceans related to barnacles, may be parasitic and are key to understanding barnacle evolution. When most people think of barnacles, they imagine shell-like organisms clinging to boats, docks, or even whales. Yet some barnacles go far beyond passive attachment — they can actually invade and take over their hosts. “Instead of...
  • Making babies beyond Earth? Mouse study suggests we can make it happen

    Spaceflight has a broad impact on the way our body functions — and that includes our reproductive systems. Indeed, to get a better idea of how future pregnancies and new generations born to humans beyond Earth will be affected, scientists need to examine how well our reproductive germ cells and stem cells respond to potentially harmful factors, like radiation and microgravity. Researchers from Kyoto University in Japan did just this: They froze the spermatogonial stem cells of mice through a process called cryopreservation, then kept them on the International Space Station (ISS) for six months. Once back on Earth, researchers...
  • World’s first gene-edited horses are shaking up the genteel sport of polo

    08/30/2025 11:01:01 AM PDT · by E. Pluribus Unum · 11 replies
    Reuters ^ | August 30, 2025 10:00 AM UTC | Leila Miller
    BUENOS AIRES - They look like ordinary foals, docile with honey brown coats and white facial patches, content to spend their days munching alfalfa in a cordoned-off pasture in rural Buenos Aires province. But these five 10-month-olds are the world’s first genetically edited horses: cloned copies of a prize-winning horse named Polo Pureza, or Polo Purity, with a single DNA sequence inserted using CRISPR technology with the aim of producing explosive speed. Kheiron Biotech, the Argentine company that created the horses, says gene-editing has the potential to revolutionize horse breeding. While cloning creates a genetically identical copy, CRISPR functions as...
  • Bearded Dragons Can Switch Sex. Scientists Finally Found Out How

    08/27/2025 5:26:29 AM PDT · by Red Badger · 18 replies
    Scitech Daily ^ | August 26, 2025 | GigaScience
    Bearded dragons are famous for their ability to change sex depending on heat and genes. Two new genome projects have revealed the likely master gene, Amh, behind this switch — finally solving a reptile mystery that has baffled scientists for years. Credit: Shutterstock Scientists have finally cracked one of the strangest mysteries in reptile biology: how bearded dragons decide their sex. Breakthrough Genomes Reveal Bearded Dragon’s Secrets Two separate research teams have now released near-complete reference genomes of the central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps), a lizard species that ranges widely across central eastern Australia and is also a favorite pet...