Genetics

Life

Tiny bits of RNA can trigger pain and itchiness

Two microRNAs may shed light on the causes of nerve pain and itch.

Health & Medicine

The first gene-silencing drug wins FDA approval

The FDA just approved the first drug that works via RNA interference.

Health & Medicine

A newly approved drug could be a boon for treating malaria

Tafenoquine could help prevent the recurring form of malaria, but the drug may also be dangerous for people who have a certain genetic mutation.

Genetics

Researchers say CRISPR edits to a human embryo worked. But critics still doubt it

Researchers say that they have confirmed CRISPR/Cas9 edits of a heart disease–causing version of a gene, but critics still have doubts.

Archaeology

The debate over people’s pathway into the Americas heats up

Defenders of an ice-free inland passage for early Americans make their case.

Genetics

The first detailed map of red foxes’ DNA may reveal domestication secrets

Thanks to a newly deciphered genome of red foxes, researchers have pinpointed regions in the animals’ DNA linked to taming them.

Genetics

The ‘language gene’ didn’t give humans a big leg up in evolution

Scientists have long debated the role of a gene called FOXP2 in recent human evolution.

Genetics

Indonesia’s pygmies didn’t descend from hobbits, DNA analysis suggests

Short people living on the Indonesian island of Flores don’t appear to have DNA from controversial, small-bodied Stone Age hominids called hobbits.

Genetics

Most Americans think it’s OK to tweak a baby’s genes to prevent disease

Americans generally favor tweaking a baby’s genes to reduce the chance of getting a disease, but think boosting intelligence is a step too far.

Genetics

Here’s why wounds heal faster in the mouth than in other skin

Wounds in the mouth heal speedily thanks to some master regulators of immune reactions.

Tech

Readers share their experiences with DNA ancestry tests

Readers delighted in learning about Emmy Noether, and asked about autonomous taxis and how the first Americans may have arrived via coastal routes.

Genetics

50 years ago, scientists took baby steps toward selecting sex

In 1968, scientists figured out how to determine the sex of rabbit embryos.