Researchers have reconstructed ancient herpesvirus genomes from Iron Age and medieval Europeans, revealing that HHV-6 has been infecting humans for at least 2,500 years. Some people inherited the ...

Ancient DNA is turning human evolution into a crime scene reconstruction, and one of the prime suspects is a herpesvirus that ...

A previously unknown strain of syphilis bacteria has been discovered in human remains in Colombia, dating back 5,500 years.

New DNA Study Links Human's Low Pain Tolerance to Ancient Genetic Roots ...

Cutting-edge genetics research reveals a startling legacy embedded in our DNA.

CC0 Usage Conditions ApplyClick for more information. When early modern humans encountered Neanderthals and Denisovans, these archaic humans contributed DNA to our genomes. But how many archaic human ...

Some DNA passed down from ancient hunter-gatherers has been found to be a crucial force in living to be 100 years old.

A stretch of viral DNA in the mouse genome gives cells in early-stage embryos the potential to become almost any cell type in ...

Researchers recovered ancient DNA from a 5,500-year-old skeleton in Colombia and reconstructed a genome related to Treponema pallidum. The lineage predates known syphilis strains by ~3,000 years, ...

Scientists have discovered that a gene called MUC19, inherited from Denisovans through ancient interbreeding, may have played a vital role in helping Indigenous ancestors adapt as they migrated into ...

When Matthias Meyer began studying the ancient DNA in the 400,000 year old fossils he found in the Sima de los Huesos, or Pit of Bones cave, deep beneath the Atapuerca mountains in Spain, he was ...