ANTH 420: Nature Journal

This week in Nature journal there were two pieces I want to share.

First is a news piece on using DNA testing to tackle illegal trade of elephant tusks.  We can use the information to trace back to the sites and elephant communities where poaching is most often happening in order to reinforce anti-poaching efforts.  This pertains to our primate studies because similar tactics have been implemented to control the sale of illegal primates as bush meat.  Meat can be tested to trace the poaching back to the source and also to squash the market for meat.  Here's the link for that bit: http://www.nature.com/news/tusk-tracking-will-tackle-illegal-trade-1.12510

Second, here are some circular RNA molecules that influence our gene expression by binding to and blocking microRNAs: http://www.nature.com/news/circular-rnas-throw-genetics-for-a-loop-1.12513