As I roamed through several science news websites, I found so many cool articles that I had a difficult time choosing one.  I decided to "focus" on three that are good connections to our current science study as we move from genetics into evolution.(One that I ended up not using is about face shields for football helmets--go to http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081117193017.htm )

 

I read one article on the sequencing of the woolly mammoth genome.  The genome of a species is the entire DNA sequence of a particular species of animals, and is very useful for determining which species are most closely related and how long ago they shared a common ancestor.  The scientists that managed to sequence the woolly mammoth genome found that they are most closely related to African elephants, and that they last shared an ancestor around 6 million years ago.  There were possibly two species of woolly mammoths in Siberia, although there is a disagreement between the two sets of researchers. 

 

Incidentallly, I read a book once about a hypothesis that many of the monsters from ancient Greek and Roman myths are based on dinosaur and woolly mammoth bones that they found.  The Cyclops may have been based on woolly mammoth bones.  Archaelogists have found burial sites with mammoth bones arranged in a human form.  The hole in the mammoth skull where the trunk was could have been the Cyclops' single eye.

 

The second article is called "Sequencing the Dead to Save the Living," and is about why scientists think it is helpful to sequence the DNA of organisms that lived a long time ago.  They use the sequencing of the woolly mammoth genome and the genome of the Neandertal hominids as examples.  By gaining knowledge about the genes of these long-lost species, we can start to figure how they are related to modern animals, what genetic vulnerabilities may have caused their extinction, and perhaps how we can help endangered species today.  For example, scientists are comparing the DNA of Neandertals, humans, and apes to figure out how the three groups are related.  They do not believe that Neandertals are related to us directly, and that the ancestors of modern humans therefore did not interbreed with them.  By comparing the genomes of Neandertals with Homo sapiens, scientists may be able to figure out what allowed our ancestors to outcompete them and survive to modern times.

 

The last article that I read described the role that bacteria may play in fossilization of soft-bodied animals like jellyfish and sea cucumbers or the soft parts of vertebrates.  These types of fossils are very rare because usually the soft parts decompose quickly.  However, if the dead animal is quickly buried in the mud on the ocean floor, anerobic bacteria (bacteria that lives without oxygen) take over the cells of the dead animal and reproduce quickly.  The bacteria create a type of coating that covers the structure of the organism, preserving the shape.  Finally, the bacteria deposit minerals like calcium carbonate that make the fossil literally rock-hard.

 

Here is a web page with links to all of the sequenced genomes.  You can look up the genes of more than 180 organisms!

 

Okay; this was a long one, but I was late on this entry...I've paid my penance!