Ancient DNA Revolution

Meet some of the people featured in the June 2015 issue of The Scientist.

How to Clone a Mammoth, The Upright Thinkers, The Thirteenth Step, and Humankind

Reconstructing the past using ancient DNA

June 2015's selection of notable quotes

At least seven species of herpesvirus commonly infect elephants. At zoos, keepers scramble to save calves, who are particularly vulnerable to the viruses.

Physical contact helps determine who’s present among baboons’ gut bacteria.

Texas Tech undergraduate students band together to conduct research in remembrance of a classmate.

Andean communities may have evolved the ability to metabolize arsenic, a trait that could be the first documented example of a toxic substance acting as an agent of natural selection in humans.

Enrolling the right patient population could be key to a successful clinical trial.

A guide for how and when to transition from the microarray to RNA-seq

Novel microfluidic devices give researchers new ways to count and sort single cells.

A new high-throughput, transcriptome-wide assay determines RNA structures in vivo.

As the science of paleoanthropology developed, human evolutionary trees changed as much as the minds that constructed them.

Assistant Professor, Department of Genetics, Stanford University. Age: 35

A chromatin remodeler in embryonic stem cells clears the DNA for mRNA transcription while stifling the expression of noncoding transcripts.

An RNA thought to be noncoding in fact encodes a small protein that regulates calcium uptake in muscle.

A scaffolding protein forms the hub of a newly identified immune pathway in plants.

Stuart Levy has spent a lifetime studying mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and crusading to abolish the use of antibiotics in animal feed.

A German naturalist trains a keen eye and a microscope on a tiny crustacean to unlock its secrets.

RNA interference is proving to be a valuable tool for agriculture, allowing researchers to develop pathogen-resistant and more-nutritious crops.

To make the most of the current data deluge, we must reward interdisciplinary researchers who identify and apply the most appropriate analysis methods.

Revolutionary new methods for extracting, purifying, and sequencing ever-more-ancient DNA have opened an unprecedented window into the history of life on Earth.