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A three-year-old video in which a young Chinese boy appears to demonstrate night vision is making the rounds once again, with news sources wondering if the boy really has mutant night vision or freaky alien powers. Yeah...this shouldn't take long. More »
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For the first time ever, we can track the number of genetic mutations in each generation of a human family. Humans are mutating at a downright glacial pace, with a shockingly tiny number of mutations passed on in each generation. More »
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Mutation is one of the big driving forces behind evolution, as it can allow species to quickly gain the genetic tools necessary to survive and adapt. But even the perfect mutation can mean trouble if it can't work with others. More »
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Hammerhead sharks are among the strangest creatures on Earth, with seemingly misshapen heads that actually give them 360-degree vision. But what evolutionary path could lead to such bizarre features? As this video suggests, it might be a single freak mutation. More »
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The Atlantic tomcod that live in the heavily polluted Hudson River have come up with an extreme solution to deal with all the toxins surrounding them: mutate, and mutate fast. But though their super-speedy adaptation has allowed them to survive over thirty years in the dirty rivers, it may have come at a terrible price. More »
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Earthworm Jim and Ghostopolis creator Doug TenNapel returns to "the dorky hero genre" with webcomic Ratfist, the absurd tale of a non-powered superhero who finds himself suddenly mutating. Oh, and he dresses like a rat. More »
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The sight of men and women changing into something new, different, and — albeit rarely — better has transfixed audiences for decades. Usually gory, frequently scary, and occasionally hilarious, here are some of cinema's greatest moments of mutant transformation. More »
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Reality has caught up with Stan Lee's mutant fantasies, judging by his new History Channel series, called Stan Lee's Superhumans. Airing this fall, Superhumans will feature "genetically different" people who have fantastic abilities. The worlds' most flexible man will co-host. More »
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This two-headed bobtail lizard from Perth, Australia has two brains, and it consequently has trouble moving its hindlegs. But that's not its biggest problem - no, the lizard's larger head wants to devour its smaller one. Talk about self-loathing. More »
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Brooke Greenberg looks like a toddler, but she is actually sixteen years old. She is only 30 inches high. Now scientists are studying her genome to figure out whether she possesses a mutation that prevents her body from aging. More »
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Yesterday we told you all about a recent study where a group of researchers identified the genes responsible for brain development in the womb. We pointed out, in our usual excitable way, that this discovery is the first step on the road to tinkering with those genes to produce mega-geniuses and mindless drones. The researchers made their discovery using a cool, high-speed method of identifying active genes called RNA interference (RNAi), which selectively suppresses gene activity. Here you can see the results of the RNAi process, which left a whole bunch of brain neurons in pretty bad shape . Above, the only untreated neuron is (A) — all the rest are RNAi mutants, whose weird shapes reveal what the suppressed genes do. Check out more mutated brains below. More »
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In 2005, scientists discovered a few families in Hungary where some of the adults only walked on all fours. Few understood the causes of this rare condition, called Unertan syndrome. Some scientists speculated that the quadrupedal people had simply never learned to walk upright due to learning disabilities and lack of access to proper medical care. Others believed that these families had a mutation in a set of genes that cause humans to walk upright. Today at a conference, researchers in Turkey are presenting the results of a study where they analyzed the genomes in all four families. They are beginning to figure out what causes present-day humans to walk on all fours the way our distant ancestors did. More »
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People living in areas with airborne toxins and pollution are likely to develop 60 percent more mutations in their sperm than people living in areas with relatively clean air. Sperm mutations could lead to infertility for the man, or might make his children suffer any number of birth defects. Will this quickly lead to a world where more than half the population is some kind of mutant? Possibly, though a recent study suggests an easy solution if you want to protect your precious reproductive fluids. More »
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Toxins in the water did this. Image via Getty. More »
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Stephen King's The Mist is vaporizing from theaters left and right, but there's already another fog-shrouded mutant mist movie heading to your multiplex. Night & Fog, which is in production with Myriad Pictures, has a very familiar-sounding plot: military experiment on a remote island results in monsters in the mist. Got your lawyer on speed dial, Mr. King? More »
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