Reconstruction of ancestral mammal's genome possible

A team of scientists has demonstrated that computers could be used to reconstruct with 98 percent accuracy the DNA of a creature that lived at the time of the dinosaurs more than 75 million years ago--a small, furry nocturnal animal that was the common ancestor of most placental mammals, including humans. [More]

Antibiotic rifampicin shows promise for fighting Parkinson's disease in laboratory tests

An antibiotic used to treat leprosy and tuberculosis can prevent the formation of protein fibrils associated with the death of brain cells in people with Parkinson's disease, UCSC researchers including Jie Li, right, have shown. The drug also dissolved existing fibrils in laboratory tests. [More]