All Stories by John Travis
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Gene found key to brain chemical
The mammalian brain makes the neurotransmitter serotonin in an unexpected way.
- Health & Medicine
Worms offer the skinny on fat genes
The identification of worm genes that regulate fat storage may provide insight into human obesity.
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Catch of the day for cancer researchers
Scientists are using glowing tumor cells inside zebrafish to study how cancer spreads.
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Genghis Khan’s Legacy?
Genghis Kahn's military success 800 years ago may have spread a particular form of the Y chromosome, one he may have himself carried.
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Heat-Seeking Missiles: Sperm may follow rising temperature to egg
In a process called thermotaxis, sperm cells may use a temperature gradient in the fallopian tubes to find their way to an unfertilized egg.
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From Bone to Brain: Transplanted male bone marrow makes nerve cells in women and girls
Transplanted bone marrow can form new nerve cells in the brains of people.
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Human Genome Work Reaches Milestone
Two rival groups jointly announced that each has read essentially all of the 3 billion or so letters that spell out the human genome, the genetic information encoded with the 6 feet of DNA coiled up in every human cell.
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Getting Attached: Sugar-protein link joins embryo to Mom
Biologists may have found the molecular handshake that attaches an embryo to the wall of the uterus.
- Health & Medicine
Drug protects mouse eggs from radiation
Mice protected by a drug from radiation-induced sterility have normal offspring.
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Brain wiring depends on multifaceted gene
A single gene may produce 38,000 unique proteins that guide the growth of the developing brain.
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Losing Rhythm: Gene mutation causes heart problems
Chinese researchers have for the first time identified a genetic defect that causes atrial fibrillation, a disorder in which the heart's upper chambers beat irregularly and too rapidly.
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A fish’s solution to broken hearts
The zebrafish can regenerate missing heart muscle.
