Imagine digging up crimes from the past. That's what happened when DNA testing finally caught up with Kurt Alan Rillema, a Michigan business owner. Police found that Rillema, 51, was the FBI behind two sexual assault cases way back in 1999 and 2000—at golf courses in Oakland County and Penn State Un
Scientists have recently found something astonishing about Huntington’s disease, a serious brain disorder passed down through families. They’ve known about the genetic mutation that causes it for a while, but they weren't sure why people with the mutation don't have symptoms until they’re older. It
Ever heard of aristolochic acids (AA)? They're sneaky compounds that can cause big problems, like chronic renal disease, worldwide. The main troublemaker is aristolochic acid I (AA-I). Scientists wanted to know why AA-I is so much worse than its cousin, aristolochic acid II (AA-II), even though they
Invasive snails, like the freshwater snail, have made a big impact on food, the environment, and even our health. But they don't get the attention they deserve. Scientists wanted to know the best way to study viruses in snails. So, they compared two methods: whirling them really fast in either cesiu
Ever wondered what happens to the body of textile workers who are constantly exposed to dyes? A recent study in Egypt took a closer look at these workers to understand their health better. Researchers were curious about mutations, specific gene changes, and how these might affect the proteins in the
Want to find rare fish without actually seeing them? Scientists have come up with a clever way using something called eDNA. This stands for environmental DNA, which is basically tiny bits of DNA that living things leave behind in their environment. To detect this eDNA, scientists use a combination
Indonesia's diverse Felidae species (also known as cats) are under threat from illegal wildlife trade. To combat this, scientists are using DNA forensics to identify these confiscated animals. Recently, researchers analyzed 38 samples from seized wildlife products and found four species: the Sumatra
Ever wondered about the true story behind Netflix’s crime series, The Breakthrough? It’s a gripping tale of a double murder that happened way back in 2004 in Linköping, Sweden. The victims were an 8-year-old boy named Mohammed Ammouri and a 56-year-old woman named Anna-Lena Svensson. The case went c
In the small town of Holtville, Alabama, a 17-year-old girl nearly fell victim to a frightening situation. A man, later identified as Yordy Centeno-Melchor, tried to lure her into his vehicle. This wasn't Melchor's first brush with the law—he had been deported from the U. S. at least five times befo
Scientists recently explored if DNA from cancer cells floating in a patient's blood could predict who might relapse after surgery. They focused on biliary tract cancers, which form in the bile ducts, and aimed to check two main things. First, they wanted to see if this DNA could tell who might have
