Why European Colonization Drove the Blue Antelope to Extinction

International team of scientists and start-up Colossal Biosciences decode the DNA of the bluebuck using state-of-the-art computer analysis software

17-Apr-2024 - An international team of researchers led by the University of Potsdam has generated and analyzed the first high-coverage nuclear genome of the extinct blue antelope in cooperation with Colossal Biosciences and the Museum of Natural History Berlin. The genomic data shed light on the evolutionary ...

Biodiversity Discovery 4.0 for Everyone

Cutting-edge sequencing technology fit in any trouser pocket

08-Dec-2021 - Scientists at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, together with colleagues from the National University of Singapore, have succeeded in optimizing and simplifying a method of species identification using a genetic "barcode" system and a small inexpensive sequencing device. The new approach requires ...

Does bat DNA hold the answer to aging well?

Bats not only live to a very old age, but they also stay healthy and rarely develop cancer

17-Mar-2021 - A new study published in Nature Communications shows that the age of bats can be predicted with high accuracy based on DNA methylation patterns. A global team of researchers with the participation of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin examined the number of methyl groups (CH3) bound to the DNA of ...

Oldest viruses in the history of the earth detected

09-Aug-2019 - A lizard-like animal that lived 289 million years ago in Permian times suffered from a disease of bone metabolism similar to Paget's disease in modern humans. This was published by the researcher Yara Haridy and her colleagues from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, the Charité Universitätsmedizin ...