One Person, Two Sets of DNA: The Strange Case of the Human Chimera

In 1953 a woman known only as “Mrs. McK” entered a blood clinic in northern England. She was there to donate: it was a routine trip, a common gesture of goodwill, but the act would permanently alter Mrs. McK’s perception of herself as well as genetic knowledge of what constitutes an individual body. After Mrs. McK…
Jack the Ripper’s Identity Revealed, Thanks to DNA Analysis
The 126-year-old mystery that has been the subject of countless investigations, books, movies, TV shows and general multigenerational fascination appears to have finally been solved. A forensic scientist claims he has proven the identity of Jack the Ripper, the notorious unidentified serial killer responsible of at…
You Could One Day Have Your Very Own Designer Baby
Babies are as chic now as they've ever been, but have you noticed that some babies are, like, so much better than other babies? I mean, it's not as if you can show up to playgroup carrying whatever subpar human child you've been charged with raising, so how can you — as a stylish person on the go — guarantee that your…
Meet the New Spice Girls: Little Mix
Scary, Sporty, Baby, Posh and Ginger have been knocked from their throne by a new British girl group that's preparing to invade our great land: the band Little Mix's album DNA debuted at Number 4 on the top 200 chart this week, which is "the highest debut ever for a British female group's first album" since the Spice…
If You Have Red Hair Then You're Related to Carrot Top, Says Science
Every single person who carries one of the variants of the red-hair gene is a "direct descendant" of the first person who had it, according to a DNA lab in Scotland that has launched a campaign to de-stigmatize being ginger. But it remains unclear how publicizing that redheads are biologically linked to Carrot Top…
Twins Arrested for Sexual Assault, but Police Can't Figure Out Which One Is Guilty
In news that's literally begging to be turned into an episode of Law & Order: SVU, 24-year-old twins Elwin and Yohan were recently arrested on suspicion of six similar sexual attacks on women between the ages of 22 and 76 years old. Taking place in the French city of Marseille between Sept 2012 and Jan 2013, the…
Geneticists Plan to Examine Adam Lanza's DNA for 'Abnormalities'
The atrocities at Sandy Hook Elementary are so unfathomable that we're all kind of adrift at this point—mired in angry stalemates over gun control and mental health and white male entitlement and Adam Lanza's mother's arsenal and the victimization of the mentally ill and the politicization of tragedy and so on. So the…
Can Expensive Skin Cream Tailored to Your DNA Really Make You Younger? DUH, NO.
Okay. Apparently this is the newest thing in face science. You spit in a jar. Then a fake scientist looks at your spit and is like, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, YES, birch and phoenix feather! This will do nicely!" And they hand you a jar of customized face goop that "matches" your spit, and you go home and goop up your face with…
Mobile Paternity Testing Truck Offers Peace of Mind, Artisanal Cupcakes
(JK, no cupcakes.) Hey, do you have a bunch of spare babies cluttering up the den but you're not sure where the fuck they came from? Do you like DNA tests but hate buildings? Do you want to determine your child's future with the same ease and joie de vivre with which you would order a taco? Well has New York City got…
Woman Who's Been a Surrogate Mother 11 Times Officially Retires Her Uterus
For most women, the idea of carrying four of their own children is more than enough. But one woman did that much and then kept right on going. Meredith Olafson, of Fargo, North Dakota, has delivered 15 babies. That is approaching Duggar levels of birthing. Unlike the Duggars, though, most of the babies didn't belong…
Consider Helping Our Species By Continuing to Have Sex
It might be a total pain in the ass to woo sexual partners and make an effort to have a relationship with them, but science has now confirmed what any teenager could tell you: the sex makes it totally worth it. Apparently, mating "can produce benefits for a species in the long term." Well, you don't say?
Meet the Creepy Fellow Who Fathered Some 600 Children
If you were asked to think of the man who has fathered the most children in the world, who'd be your pick? Jim Bob Duggar? Or the anonymous man who fathered 150 children? Both good guesses, but it's more likely Bertold Wiesner, who is likely the father of some 600 children. How exactly did he come to be so prolific?…
The Test That Will Tell You When You're Going To Die
"I think people are just basically curious about their own mortality. If you ask people what they worry about, most people would say they are worried about dying."
