Jan 22nd, 2010 · Brenda Tan and Matt Cost, high school seniors from Trinity School in New York City, used a technique called DNA barcoding to find out what species were present in over 200 animal products. Their results suggest buyers should beware!
Jan 18th, 2010 · The world's most expensive ham goes on sale Monday at a posh food store in London. Each Albarragena ham leg is wrapped in a special apron made by a Spanish tailor. Given the $3,000 price tag, the hams come with DNA certificates — proving the meat comes from pigs fed on wild grasses, roots and acorns who roam freely in the fields of western Spain.
Dec 30th, 2009 · James Bain was 19-years-old in 1974, when he was arrested and charged with kidnapping and raping a 9-year-old boy. He was convicted largely because the boy identified him in a police lineup. After serving 35 years in prison, James Bain was recently freed after DNA testing — which he pleaded for when he was initially accused — found him innocent of the crime. Bain talks about his life as a freed man and whether he holds any resentment toward the judicial system for the life-changing error.
Dec 28th, 2009 · Using DNA tests, two seniors at Manhattan's Trinity School found plenty of food that wasn't what the labels said it was. A test of DNA from a cockroach found in an apartment on the Upper West Side suggests it may represent a new species or subspecies.
Dec 27th, 2009 · The "Do It Yourself" movement works well when you're talking about making your own music or growing your own vegetables. But some people are starting a DIY-biology movement. They're studying things like DNA and E. coli bacteria in home laboratories. And for now, the industry is largely unregulated. Host Guy Raz speaks with Jason Bobe, founder of the group DIYbio.
Dec 18th, 2009 · Woolly mammoths and ancient horses may have been roaming the North American steppes longer than scientists thought. Evolutionary biologist Eske Willerslev describes how his team used DNA samples taken from permafrost cores to recalculate when the animals may have disappeared.
Dec 11th, 2009 · The al-Qaida operative killed in a Predator drone attack in western Pakistan this week may have been one of the group's top operations officers. Two sources familiar with the case tell NPR that they believe Saleh al-Somali was hit in the attack by the remotely piloted aircraft. Officials are awaiting DNA proof.
Dec 6th, 2009 · Some children get severely obese because they lack particular chunks of DNA, which kicks their hunger into overdrive, researchers report.