A study of the Inka origins and their lineages was performed in twelve contemporary families with presumed patrilineal lineage to Inka monarchs. A comparison of Y-chromosome and mtDNA markers of these descendants with a database of about 2400 South American native individuals of Peru, Bolivia, Brasil and Ecuador showed two distinct patrilineal clusters, and a very diverse matrilineal origin. In addition they show great affinity to areas South of Cusco including the Lake Titicaca.

A particle that is its own anti-particle is the subject of a theoretical study by Brazilian researchers with results published in Scientific Reports. These Majorana quasi-particles can emerge as excitations in topological superconductors.

Mosquitoes in the genus Aedes, which carry viruses causing yellow fever, chikungunya and Zika, invaded the crossroads of the Americas multiple times, by land and by sea.

What slows or stops a disease epidemic if the pathogen is still present? It appears that wild frogs are becoming increasingly resistant to the chytrid fungal disease that has decimated amphibian populations around the world.

For at least 150 years, we know that traumatic brain injury can change several domains of behavior, impairing social behavior or memory, for instance, depending on which brain areas have been damaged. However, mapping the relation between brain areas and behavior can be tough, especially for complex behavior such as altruism. In this study, war veterans with brain lesion were studied to elucidate causal relationship between how specific brain areas are involved in social behavior.