For a few species of microbe, DNA is more than a library of genetic information: it’s also lunch. Some bacteria that live in the mud below the seafloor appear to survive by eating DNA trapped in the dirt. Image: thdoubleu
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What a difference 1000 kilometres make. Neanderthals living in prehistoric Belgium enjoyed their meat – but the Neanderthals who lived in what is now northern Spain seem to have survived on an almost exclusively vegetarian diet. Image: Paleoanthropology Group MNCN-CSIC
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It can be lonely at the top. Snub-nosed monkeys live at a higher altitude than any other non-human primate – but they are also among the rarest of all primates. Image: jackhynes
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Genes from our extinct cousins helped us conquer the planet. Without them, our ancestors may not have coped with unfamiliar diseases, thrived in the thin air of the high Tibetan plateau, or withstood the chilly winds of the Arctic. Image: Riebart
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Strands of artificial genetic material have been folded into 3D shapes of our own choosing for the first time. These parcels could be used to carry medicinal cargoes inside the body. Image: A.Taylor, F. Beuron, S-Y. Peak-Chew, E.P. Morris, P. Herdewijn, P. Holliger.
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The oldest ever human nuclear DNA to be reconstructed and sequenced reveals Neanderthals in the making – and the need for a possible rewrite of our own origins. Image: Javier Trueba, Madrid Scientific Films
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IT WAS a two-way street. Many people carry ancient Neanderthal DNA in their genome as a result of cross-species liaisons around 50,000 years ago. Now it seems that some Neanderthals carried our DNA, too. Image: Bence Viola
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Europe went through a major population upheaval about 14,500 years ago, at the end of the last ice age, according to DNA from the bones of hunter-gatherers. Image: Martin Frouz
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Gene editing is a lot more common in nature than you might think, and it’s been going on for a surprisingly long time – revelations that have challenged what biologists thought they knew about the way evolution works. Image: Nigel_Brown
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Inside each one of us lies a mystery. An analysis of genes from the human gut has found DNA so unusual it could belong to microbes unlike anything that science has encountered before – microbes that don’t seem to fit into any of the three known domains of life. Image: ssoosay
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Not too long ago, the founding of Europe seemed beguilingly simple. Our species arrived 45,000 years ago from the Middle East, outcompeted the Neanderthals, and that was that. But ancient DNA studies have led to a revolution in European prehistory studies. Image: Effervescing Elephant
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Talk about making an impact. One of the meteorites that slammed into the planet early in its history could have kick-started life: the collision may have generated all four of the bases in RNA. Image: NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
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