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150 Years American Museum of Natural History

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84 Results for "DNA"

olc_088_dna_listing

Saying "deoxyribonucleic acid" is a real mouthful. Luckily, you can call it DNA for short.

What animal did scientists collect this tissue from? Take a guess!

See how genetics is used to solve crimes!

Join scientist George Amato on his quest to stop criminals smuggling illegal goods.

Find out what makes you different from a snail, a tree, or even your best friend!

Here's a very cool experiment that just might bring a tear to your eye. Use a blender to separate the DNA from an onion.

Zoom inside your cells for a fascinating look at chromosomes, DNA, genes, and more!

Crack-the-DNA-Code-Thumbnail

Join scientist George Amato on his quest to stop criminals smuggling illegal goods.

Travel around the world with museum scientists: from Madagascar to Indonesia.

olc_102_cell_listing

Have you ever wondered what our muscles, blood, bones, and bodies are made of? They are made of cells! Cells are the...

olc_106_nucleus_listing

The nucleus is like the remote control center of the cell. It acts as the cell's brain by telling it what to do, how...

olc_092_yael_wyner_listing

As a conservation geneticist, Yael tries to help endangered species by studying their DNA.

olc_104_bases_listing

DNA is shaped like a long twisted ladder, and pairs of bases form the ladder's steps. Bases are known by the letters...

How much do you know about what makes you you?

Take a look at the science of where it ALL begins.

olc_108_genome_listing

All the DNA in a cell is called a genome. Your body contains trillions of copies of the human genome -- one in each o...

olc_110_genetic_modification_listing

Scientists figured out a way to take genes from one species and stick them inside the DNA of another species. When a...

olc_117_dolly_listing

In 1997, Dolly rocked the world of genetics. Not baaaa'd for a little lamb from Scotland. What was the big deal? She...

olc_111_clone_listing

Clones are plants and animals that have more than just their looks in common; they also have the exact same DNA seque...

olc_107_human_genome_project_listing

Many scientists have joined forces on the Human Genome Project. Their goal is to figure out the order of all "DN...

Tracking a gorilla can get hairy. Literally. Just ask George Amato.

Start a field journal, and track how your favorite critter looks and behaves.

Find out which of your traits are due to nature OR both nature and nurture.

olc_089_gene_listing

Have you ever wondered why you look like your parents, grandparents, or siblings? It's because of your genes -- the i...

Send a note to a friend with these colorful letterheads.

olc_113_george_amato_listing

Since he was a kid, George Amato has been wild about wildlife. Today he works for the Wildlife Conservation Society a...

olc_090_george_barrowclough_listing

At age 10, George Barrowclough began bird watching with his dad. He pursued his interest in birds by becoming an orni...

olc_099_howard_rosenbaum_listing

It's no fluke that Howard Rosenbaum is wild about whales -- especially the endangered right whales and humpback whales.

olc_118_gregor_mendel_listing

Gregor Mendel not only ate his peas, he used them to figure out how genes are passed from generation to generation. I...

olc_271_julie_feinstein_listing

Scientists all over the world send precious cargo to Julie Feinstein: frozen samples of animal tissues.

Find out where Rob has followed his born curiosity.

olc_086_genetics_listing

Genetics is the study of how traits are passed from one generation to another. Traits such as eye color and nose shap...

How can you wear a chimp on your wrist—without getting primate elbow?

olc_103_chromosomes_listing

Chromosomes are tiny, spaghetti-like packages of information. Every cell of your body contains 23 pairs of them -- th...

Investigate the how and why of cloning.

olc_114_american_crocodile_listing

The American crocodile has lived on Earth for millions of years, but today their numbers are rapidly declining becaus...

olc_112_yacare_caiman_listing

That toothy grin might make you think this is a crocodile or an alligator. But the Yacaré caiman is neither. Caimans...

olc_109_nature_nurture_listing

Thousands of traits make you who you are. Some traits, such as eye color, are determined mostly, or entirely, by gene...

olc_098_humpback_whale_listing

Even though this whale of a whale weighs many tons, the humpback whale can make acrobatic leaps out of the water!

olc_096_rob_desalle_listing

In college, Rob DeSalle wanted to study the narwhal, an Arctic whale with an eight-foot spiral tooth.

olc_087_field_journal_listing

When "ologists" observe plants, animals, fossils, or rocks, they know they won't remember every detail. So...

olc_116_tibetan_antelope_listing

The Tibetan antelope, also known as "chiru," is one of the most beautiful mammals in the world.

olc_115_asian_elephant_listing

The Asian elephant is one of the largest land mammals in the world. Some people believe that elephants feel joy and s...

olc_149_madagascar_listing

Compared to the continent of Africa, Madagascar may seem small. But this island, the fourth largest in the world, is...

Find out how scientists are using genetics to change the food you eat.

olc_119_bengal_tiger_listing

This mighty member of the cat family is a powerful predator. It can leap up to 30 feet in the air, climb trees, and e...

olc_093_ruffed_lemur_listing

In the wild, ruffed lemurs live in only one place -- the eastern rain forests of Madagascar.

olc_101_pacu_listing

If you came face to face with a pacu, what would you do? Never fear -- the pacu may look like a big and scary fish, b...

olc_091_endangered_listing

Thousands of plants and animal species may be in danger of becoming extinct and disappearing forever.

olc_100_st_vincent_parrot_listing

The St. Vincent parrot makes its home on the tropical island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean. These parrots are cover...

olc_094_sumatran_tiger_listing

The Sumatran tiger is found in only one place on the Earth -- on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Fewer than 500 o...

Explore this family tree of living things on Earth.

olc_095_joel_cracraft_listing

Growing up, Joel Cracraft loved reading travel and adventure books. In high school, he became interested in ornitholo...

olc_131_aye-aye_listing

The gremlin-like, endangered aye-aye makes its home in the tropical forests of Madagascar, a large island off the coa...

olc_129_radiated_tortoise_listing

This beautiful tortoise lives in the deserts of Madagascar, an island off the coast of Africa. This reptile gets its...

olc_120_california_condor_listing

California condors are the largest birds in North America. Like all vultures, condors are carrion-eaters. This means...

olc_127_leatherback_sea_turtle_listing

The leatherback is the world's largest turtle. Unlike the bony exterior of other sea turtles, the exterior of the lea...

olc_132_whooping_crane_listing

The whooping crane is known as the tallest bird in North America. This long legged creature has been struggling to su...

olc_105_breed_listing

All dogs, from the giant Great Dane to the tiny Chihuahua, belong to the same species: Canis familiaris. Within that...

olc_029_cladistics_listing

To try to piece together how organisms are related, scientists use cladistics.

olc_128_mountain_gorilla_listing

The mountain gorilla lives high up in the forests of east central Africa.

olc_121_electric_eel_listing

The electric eel is long and narrow like an eel, but it is actually not an eel at all. In fact, electric eels are pro...

olc_130_starfish_listing

It's easy to see how the starfish got its name -- with their pointed arms, these creatures look like stars fallen to...

olc_122_goliath_frog_listing

Tipping the scales at more than 7 pounds, the Goliath is the largest frog in the world. Just two of these frogs weigh...

olc_123_hellbender_listing

The hellbender is one of the largest salamanders in North America.

olc_125_king_cobra_listing

The king cobra is the largest venomous snake in the world. Whether slithering on land, climbing trees, or swimming, i...

olc_126_komodo_dragon_listing

The Komodo dragon lumbers through the forest on its thick, stocky legs. It sways its head back and forth, flicking it...

olc_124_kagu_listing

New Caledonia, a tiny island east of Australia, is the only place where an unusual bird called the kagu is found. Abo...

olc_135_blue_ringed_octopus_listing

Many animals and plants use color to warn predators to stay away, and the blue ringed octopus is no exception. When t...

olc_133_ants_listing

It only seems like the world's entire ant population attends your picnics.

olc_136_cassava_plant_listing

Cassava is one tough plant because it can grow in poor and unfertile soil in most tropical environments. Cassava is a...

olc_143_giant_kelp_listing

Think of giant kelp as the Godzilla of the seaweeds.

olc_145_gorgonian_fan_coral_listing

With vibrant colors and fantastic shapes, coral reefs are a breathtaking sight. These underwater structures are actua...

olc_158_termites_listing

A rotting log is a mighty tasty meal -- if you're a termite. Termites not only eat wood, some kinds live in it, too....

olc_141_dragonflies_listing

Based on fossils of ancient dragonflies, we know these winged insects have been soaring around for at least 300 milli...

olc_138_cyanobacteria_listing

Have you ever seen pond scum -- that thick, smelly layer of slime floating on the surface of the water? That's probab...

olc_144_giant_puffball_mushroom_listing

Giant puffballs aren't your typical mushrooms.

olc_147_ladybird_beetle_listing

Most people know red and black spotted ladybird beetles as friendly insects that are fun to pick up and watch fly awa...

olc_150_mites_listing

If you looked at the contents of a vacuum cleaner bag with a microscope, you'd probably find millions of tiny creatur...

olc_151_mosquitoes_listing

You might think that all mosquitoes are alike, but did you know that there are actually about 2,500 different kinds?...

olc_154_portuguese_man-of-war_listing

The Portuguese man-of-war is actually a floating colony of individuals called polyps that are all dependent on each o...

olc_157_rosy_periwinkle_listing

Although the rosy periwinkle stands only one foot tall, in the world of medicine it's a giant.

olc_160_white-tailed_spider_listing

Not all spiders spin webs to catch their meals. When night falls in Australia, the white-tailed spider hunts its prey...

olc_159_vladimir_ovtsharenko_listing

Since he was a boy, Vladimir Ovtsharenko has been fascinated by nature. Growing up, he loved collecting spiders, beet...

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