


Freeze-dried chromosomes can survive for thousands of years
They contain unprecedented detail about their long-dead parent organisms
For palaeontologists, DNA is infuriatingly fragile. Its long chains begin to break apart shortly after death, destroying valuable information about the deceased parent organism. Unlike bones, footprints and even faecal matter, which can comfortably survive—in fossilised form—for millions of years, DNA rarely lasts much more than a hundred. In recent decades scientists have discovered that some exceptionally well-preserved bodies do still have readable fragments of genetic code hundreds of thousands of years after death. But these have been tiny scraps. They lack much of the valuable information that an intact genome provides.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Uncut and dried”

Researchers are figuring out how large language models work
Such insights could help make them safer, more truthful and easier to use

A scientific discovery could lead to leak-free period products
Polymers from algae can turn menstrual blood into a gel

Vaccines could keep salmon safe from sea lice
A successful jab would be a boon to fish farmers

Researchers are figuring out how large language models work
Such insights could help make them safer, more truthful and easier to use

A scientific discovery could lead to leak-free period products
Polymers from algae can turn menstrual blood into a gel

Vaccines could keep salmon safe from sea lice
A successful jab would be a boon to fish farmers
New yeast strains can produce untapped flavours of lager
One Chilean hybrid has a spicy taste, with hints of clove
A new technique could analyse tumours mid-surgery
It would be fast enough to guide the hands of neurosurgeons
The world’s most studied rainforest is still yielding new insights
Even after a century of research, Barro Colorado in Panama continues to shed light on natural life