Stories by Ewen Callaway

Vittrup Man, who was bludgeoned to death in a Danish bog, was a Scandinavian wanderer, according to new research

Ancient DNA recovered from Brazilian remains shows that syphilis and other treponemal diseases originated some 10,000 years earlier than previously thought

Researchers have doubted how useful AI protein-structure tool AlphaFold will be in discovering medicines—now they are learning how to deploy it effectively

Researchers have adapted the AI network to search for genetic changes linked to ill health

The decision to send hominin bones on a commercial spaceflight has raised eyebrows among paleontologists

Research is under way to determine whether the mutation-laden lineage BA.2.86 is nothing to worry about — or has the potential to spread globally

The U.K.’s fertility regulator reveals that at least one child has been born using mitochondrial replacement therapy, but the procedure’s effectiveness remains to be seen

Resins used by ancient Egyptians to prepare bodies for the afterlife are found in vessels in a 2,500-year-old workshop

Controversy surrounding a study that involved modifying SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, has prompted researchers to call for better guidance from funders

Ancient DNA from closely related individuals offers fresh insight into Neanderthals’ lives and social structures

A landmark study is the first major effort to quantify how lactose tolerance developed

When SARS-CoV-2 lingers in the body, it accumulates many of the same mutations seen in the most dangerous global variants. What can scientists do with this knowledge? 

A genetic change that evolved from ancient wolves can help make dogs giant or small

The rapid spread of new variants such as Omicron offers clues to how SARS-CoV-2 is adapting and how the pandemic will play out over the next several months

The rapid spread of new variants such as Omicron offers clues to how SARS-CoV-2 is adapting and how the pandemic will play out over the next several months

Researchers are racing to determine whether a fast-spreading coronavirus variant poses a threat to COVID vaccines’ effectiveness

Partial SARS-CoV-2 sequences from early outbreaks in Wuhan were removed from a U.S. government database by the scientists who deposited them

Preliminary results from a trial of more than 600 people are the first to show the benefits of combining different vaccines

Researchers race to determine why variants identified in Britain and South Africa spread so quickly and whether they’ll compromise vaccines

Google’s deep-learning program for determining the 3-D shapes of proteins stands to transform biology, scientists say

Preliminary data show that the immunization is 94 percent effective and seems to prevent severe infections

Proponents of the trials say they can be run safely and help to identify effective vaccines, but others have questioned their value

The immunization could be dangerous because it hasn’t been tested in large trials, researchers say

Scientists urge caution over hints of success emerging from small human and animal studies