Science Stories Archive
Archived Stories - Genetics and Systematics
(01/2009) Commonly known as the paper tree (arbol de papel) due to its papery layers of bark, the genus grows in forests far beyond the elevation of other trees. These patches provide habitat on a harsh...
(12/2008) Scientists collected lice from two mummified heads, similar to the one shown above, that were so well preserved even their long braids were still intact. Samples of the lice were...
(08/2008) Florida Museum of Natural History and University of Texas at Austin scientists have shed light on what Charles Darwin called the "abominable mystery" of early plant evolution...
(07/2008) Time is slowing down—way down—for a select collection of DNA specimens at the Florida Museum of Natural History. They are housed in a double-walled cryogenic freezer at minus 196 degrees Celsius (minus 320.8 degrees Fahrenheit)...
(05/2007) The Herbarium at the Florida Museum of Natural History is run jointly by the Museum and the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Including the associated fossil plant collection, it houses about 500,000 vascular plants, moss and lichen...
(03/2007) About 3.3 million years ago, lice found on gorillas began to infest humans, Reed said. That they took up residence in the pubic region may have coincided with humans’ loss of hair on the rest of their bodies...
(11/2006) Some eclectic studies have passed through the doors of the ancient DNA lab at the Florida Museum of Natural History. When two pre-Columbian mummies were recovered from Peru, the researchers discovered that the disembodied heads-probably...
(03/2006) During your last trip to the beach you may have noticed the concentric rings on seashells you pulled from the sand and wondered if you could count them to determine the age of the animal like you would tree rings...
(11/2005) A trendy holiday gift within a decade may be a hand-held device that instantly identifies any species from a snippet of animal tissue, say Florida Museum of Natural History researchers...
(01/2005) New genetic research of human lice supports the evolutionary theory of direct contact between modern and archaic humans, according to a study lead by a Florida Museum of Natural History researcher...
(09/2004) The discovery that many Caribbean corals are only distantly related to their counterparts in the Pacific Ocean makes the threats of pollution and global warming trends even more serious...
(05/2004) A group of scientists has created the first comprehensive evolutionary reconstruction of the many families of flowering plants, an achievement that could aid in the search for plant-based cures for diseases and improve agricultural crops...