Free Republic

Here's an absolutely wild story out of the state of Alabama. In 1997, a headless body was discovered in the woods of Marshall County, Alabama along the Little Cotaco Creek near Union Springs. The headless man appeared to have been decapitated with a saw, as well as having his hands and feet removed as well, making him impossible to identify at the time. In addition, the man's heart and spleen were also removed with "surgical precision" according to authorities. But now, 26 years later, the man has been identified as Jefferey Douglas Kimzy of Santa Barbara, California. Now the question...

An international team of biologists, geneticists, anthropologists and biochemists has... generated genomic and mitochondrial DNA data to test theories surrounding the migration of ancient peoples in Mexico...Prior research, based mostly on archaeological evidence, has suggested that drought-driven migration of ancient people from Mexico's north to the south occurred many times in the years before Europeans arrived. The northern region, called Aridoamerica, was dry and mostly desert. The people living there at the time survived as hunter-gatherers. Farther south was Mesoamerica, where early people survived by farming.Prior research has shown that there were several long-term droughts in Aridoamerica, leading people to...

A study on monkeys found that stimulating a certain part of the forebrain wakes monkeys from anesthesia. Research suggests a tiny part of the brain plays a key role in enabling consciousness. The findings might someday be used to bring people out of comas, treat consciousness disorders or ensure patients stay anesthetized during intensive procedures. Past research has suggested that certain brain areas, like the parietal cortex and thalamus, are critical to consciousness. In the study, published in Neuron, a team of scientists used electrodes to stimulate various parts of the brains of two macaque monkeys. Macaque brains closely mirror...

A new model for human evolution asserts that modern Homo sapiens stemmed from multiple genetically diverse populations across Africa rather than a single ancestral population. This conclusion was reached after researchers analyzed genetic data from present-day African populations, including 44 newly sequenced genomes from the Nama group of southern Africa. The research suggests that the earliest detectable split in early human populations occurred between 120,000 to 135,000 years ago, after long periods of genetic intermixing, and that subsequent migrations created a weakly structured genetic stem. Contrary to some previous models, this research implies that contributions from archaic hominins were unlikely...

Scientists are conducting a long-term experiment on evolution in the lab, to investigate how single-celled organisms could evolve into multicellular lifeforms. After thousands of generations, their yeast grew 20,000 times bigger and 10,000 times tougher. The idea of an evolutionary “missing link” usually conjures images of a hairy ape-like hominid, but there are actually much more profound missing links in the chain. One of the biggest gaps sits between single-celled and multicellular organisms, which marks a key step in the development of complex life on Earth. Now, scientists from Georgia Tech have reported the first results of an experiment that...

A cold case investigator is claiming that the FBI has identified the man suspected to be the infamous 'Zodiac Killer' and believes the authorities didn't look into him enough when he was alive. Journalist Thomas Colbert says that an FBI whistleblower confirmed to him that Air Force veteran Gary Francis Poste, who has been previously posited as the killer, is currently listed as a suspect. He claims that FBI labs have a 'partial' DNA sample on Poste that links him to the murders. Poste has been dead since 2018. 'The felon has been secretly listed as the Zodiac 'suspect' in...

A cold case investigator is claiming that the FBI has identified the man suspected to be the infamous 'Zodiac Killer' and believes the authorities didn't look into him enough when he was alive. Journalist Thomas Colbert says that an FBI whistleblower confirmed to him that Air Force veteran Gary Francis Poste, who has been previously posited as the killer, is currently listed as a suspect.

Netflix’s “Cleopatra” documentary has turned into an epic disaster. The audience despises the “woke” show that absurdly portrays a fair-skinned Greek woman as an “African queen.” Adding fuel to the fire, critics have also slammed it, labeling the documentary a complete failure, falling even below the quality of cheesy afternoon soap operas. It’s an embarrassing flop that leaves you scratching your head, wondering why Netflix would humor Jada Pinkett Smith’s inner racist and air such utter trash. On the flip side, Elizabeth Taylor’s rendition of Cleopatra came remarkably close to capturing the essence of the legendary figure. Beauty Flashback: Elizabeth...

...Known as D4h, this lineage is found in mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited only from mothers and is used to trace maternal ancestry.The team from the Kunming Institute of Zoology embarked on a 10-year hunt for D4h, combing through 100,000 modern and 15,000 ancient DNA samples across Eurasia, eventually landing on 216 contemporary and 39 ancient individuals [iow, cherry picking] who came from the ancient lineage.By analyzing the mutations that had accrued over time, looking at the samples’ geographic locations and using carbon dating, they were able to reconstruct the D4h’s origins and expansion history.The results revealed two migration events....

The United Kingdom has seen its first baby born using the DNA of three parents, using a process that carries grave ethical ramifications. The BBC reports that the anonymous child was born to two parents with the aid of DNA from a female donor, which comprised 0.1 percent of the baby’s genetic material. The child is believed to be one of fewer than five to have been conceived in this manner worldwide since 2016. Mitochondrial Replacement Technology (MRT), meant to prevent children from being born with mitochondrial diseases, uses in vitro fertilization (IVF) to replace the unhealthy mitochondrial DNA from...

A DNA test has confirmed the identity of a Texan woman who was reunited with her family last year after being abducted as a toddler 51 years ago. Melissa Highsmith, now 53, was taken from her parents' Fort Worth home in 1971 by a babysitter when she was just 22 months old She was miraculously reunited with her biological parents - Jeffrie Higshmith, 72; Alta Alpantenco, 73 and siblings - Rebecca Del Bosque, 48; Vicitoria Highsmith, 47; Sharon Highsmith, 45 and Jeffrey Highsmith, 42 - on November 26.

Britain’s fertility regulator has confirmed the births of the U.K.'s first babies created using an experimental technique combining DNA from three peopleBritain's fertility regulator on Wednesday confirmed the births of the U.K.'s first babies created using an experimental technique combining DNA from three people, an effort to prevent the children from inheriting rare genetic diseases. The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority said fewer than five babies have been born this way in the U.K. but did not provide further details to protect the families' identities. The news was first reported by the Guardian newspaper. In 2015, the U.K. became the...

Humans inherited genetic material from Neanderthals that affects the shape of our noses, finds a new study led by UCL researchers...The researchers newly identified 33 genome regions associated with face shape, 26 of which they were able to replicate in comparisons with data from other ethnicities using participants in east Asia, Europe, or Africa.In one genome region in particular, called ATF3, the researchers found that many people in their study with Native American ancestry (as well as others with east Asian ancestry from another cohort) had genetic material in this gene that was inherited from the Neanderthals, contributing to increased...

n his rousing keynote address at The Heritage Foundation’s 50th anniversary gala last month, then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson offered an unexpected piece of advice: “Don’t throw away your hard-copy books.” Unlike digitized books, films, and albums that can be canceled, rewritten, or vanished altogether, physical copies are “the enduring repository that cannot be disappeared.” With their resurrection of poetry recitation requirements, educators in Georgia and Arkansas are protecting that repository in more ways than one, steeping students in a reality they can affirm, trust, and love. Both states’ departments of education recently proposed revised K-12 English language arts standards...

Ancient Deer Tooth Pendant - The pierced deer tooth pendant. (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology) A pendant made from a deer's tooth has turned out to be a veritable locket of genetic information left by an ancient woman who lived in Siberia some 20,000 years ago. Evolutionary anthropologists at the Max Planck Institute in Germany found a way to safely probe ancient artifacts for environmental DNA without destroying them, and applied it to a piece of jewelery found in the famous Denisova Cave in Russia in 2019. Other than the fragments of her chromosomes, no trace of the woman...

Hollywood legend Woody Harrelson said that fellow actor Matthew McConaughey is his biological half-brother. Harrelson made the claim during an interview with Esquire to promote his new HBO show, “White House Plumbers.” The statement is a follow-up to comments previously made by McConaughey last month. In a new interview with Esquire, Harrelson claims that when McConaughey was born in 1969, McConaughey’s dad told his mom, “That ain’t my son” and refused to go to the hospital with her. Harrelson said that he “knew that detail” years before Mary Kathleen McCabe insinuated she may have had an intimate relationship with Harrelson’s...

It could signal a new era in the treatment of age-related diseases. Anew gene therapy that reprograms cells to their younger state reversed vision loss in primates, according to a new study — potentially signaling a new era in the treatment of age-related diseases. The challenge: Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) is a condition caused by decreased blood flow to the optic nerve, resulting in sudden, significant, and usually permanent loss of vision in the eye. Scientists aren’t sure what causes NAION, but most of the 6,000 Americans diagnosed with it every year are over the age of 50....

A rare pink elephant was spotted with its mother at MalaMala Game Reserve in South Africa. Photo courtesy of LatestSightings.com A pink elephant goes for an afternoon swim with its mother and herd, and despite its unique color, the herd passionately cares for it. Jaco Joubert, a guide at Mala Mala Game Reserve in South Africa, captured the cute scene and shared it with LatestSightings.com. "It was late afternoon when we headed down to the river to see what we could find. Expecting to find regulars at the water's edge, cooling down from the day's heat, we were pleasantly surprised...

Deputy U.S. Marshal Matt Westover two years ago submitted a DNA profile to a public registry, the same one that many people use in their family genealogical research. But the Omaha law enforcement officer wasn’t looking for some long-lost relative — at least not his own. The DNA profile he submitted in 2020 came from the brother of William Leslie Arnold, the fugitive who killed his parents in Omaha in 1958, buried them in the backyard, nine years later escaped from the Nebraska Penitentiary and vanished without a trace.

When asked about his origin story, John Damon always told his family he was an orphan from Chicago. Which was true, in a way. In 1958, the 16-year-old Omaha boy indeed became an orphan — when he shot his parents to death. And nine years later, after he sawed through prison bars and escaped the Nebraska State Penitentiary, the fugitive did flee to Chicago to launch his new life. But back in those days, Damon was known by a different name: William Leslie Arnold.