A new collaborative study published by a research team from the Wayne State University School of Medicine, the CReATe Fertility Centre and the University of Massachusetts Amherst provides the first in-depth look at the microbiome of human sperm utilizing RNA sequencing with sufficient sensitivity to identify contamination and pathogenic bacterial colonization. [25] An LMU team has improved both the sensitivity and efficiency of a popular method for single-cell RNA sequencing, which yields a molecular fingerprint for individual cells based on their patterns of gene activity. [24] The goal is to find bits of DNA in common between the known relatives and the unidentified remains, suggesting both belong to a particular lineage. One analysis develops a profile that combines what's found at 23 spots in the DNA, for example. [23] A new method allows researchers to systematically identify specialized proteins that unpack DNA inside the nucleus of a cell, making the usually dense DNA more accessible for gene expression and other functions. [22]