Research on ancient DNA is surging, but how can scientists ensure that human remains of irreplaceable significance are preserved? This is the question investigated by an international research team ...

The moment a creature dies, its DNA begins to break down. Half of it degrades every 521 years on average. By about 6.8 million years, even under ideal preservation conditions in cold, stable ...

The last two decades have seen a revolution in scientists' ability to reconstruct the past. This has been made possible through technological advances in the way DNA is extracted from ancient bones ...

New research pushes the first genetic evidence of dogs back by 5,000 years and suggests that hunter-gatherer groups may have acquired dogs from one another. By Emily Anthes In the waning days of the ...