News in Science

Nineteen New Pieces of Ancient Retroviral DNA Found in Human Genome
Nineteen previously unidentified pieces of non-human DNA — left by retroviruses that first infected human ancestors hundreds of thousands of years ago — have been found by scientists in a study of 2,500 human genomes. According to the team, one stretch of newfound DNA, found in about 50 of the 2,500 genomes studied, contains an intact ancient virus – only the second such virus described.

Scientists Discover New Kind of Stem Cell: iXEN
“Other scientists may have seen these cells before, but they were considered to be defective, or cancer - like. Rather than ignore these cells that have been mislabeled as waste byproducts, we found gold in the garbage,” said team member Anthony Parenti, also from Michigan State University.
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