Digging ancient signals out of modern human genomes

Trying to find ancient DNA, let alone prove that the ancient DNA is ancestral to a population living today, is extremely challenging. A new study adds to this understanding by reconstructing artificial genomes with the analyses of the genome of 565 contemporary South Asian individuals to extract ancient signals that recapitulate the long history of human migration and admixture in the region.

The carbon offset market: Leveraging forest carbon’s value in the Brazilian Amazon

As companies seek and are required to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, the world’s carbon markets are expanding. A government-run program in the Amazon rainforest in northwestern Brazil transforms forest carbon value into public wealth by focusing on labor rather than land rights. In the Brazilian state of Acre, some of the revenue from carbon credits is distributed to rural laborers and family farmers without land rights. A new study examines the benefits and risks associated with Acre’s unique approach.

Medical guidelines may be biased, overly aggressive in US

A doctor practiced general medicine for several years in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service. When she came to the United States, she noticed something strange. The U.K. guidelines for tests such as mammograms and colon cancer screenings drastically differed from those in the U.S. – even though they were based on the same medical evidence.