Topic description and stories

Enemy at the gates: the battle to save our crops

22 May 2019

A gene newly-linked to plant self-defence may hold the key to saving important crops from a deadly disease, scientists at Cambridge's Sainsbury...

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Mass burial of battle victims from the Xiongnu period in Omnogobi, Mongolia, from which scientists extracted ancient DNA from for the study.

Oldest genetic evidence of Hepatitis B virus found in ancient DNA from 4,500 year-old skeletons

09 May 2018

An extinct strain of the human Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been discovered in Bronze Age human skeletons found in burial sites across Europe and Asia...

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Experts advocate for stronger measures to protect trees and other plants from pests and pathogens

20 May 2013

Ash dieback, caused by the Chalara fungus, prompts re-evaluation of current protocols to protect UK trees and other plants; taskforce recommends...

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