Genetics

  1. Science & Society

    ‘Race Unmasked’ explores science’s racial past, present

    Eugenics is far behind us, but a health historian sees few reasons to believe science is postracial.

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  2. Genetics

    Orchid genome may save highly endangered species

    The sequenced genome of the orchid Phalaenopsis equestris offers some hints about a different form of photosynthesis and how the flowers of the plant got their specialized shape.

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  3. Genetics

    Genes linked to feather development predate dinosaurs

    The genes for feather development may have existed more than 100 million years before dinosaurs sported hints of the fluffy plumage.

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  4. Genetics

    Rare mutations may protect against heart disease

    Rare mutations in a key gene seem to lower bad cholesterol and provide protection against heart disease.

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  5. Genetics

    Human thoughts control mouse genes

    Human brain waves trigger light that activates protein production in rodents.

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  6. Genetics

    Genes tell tale of cat domestication

    A peek into cats’ genetic makeup may help reveal how hissing wild felines became purring tabbies.

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  7. Genetics

    DNA from 37,000-year-old human hints at early European history

    DNA from a roughly 37,000-year-old Homo sapiens skeleton supports recent findings about when ancient humans and Neandertals interbred.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    Snakebite test correctly IDs attackers in Nepal

    A new test that swabs for traces of snake DNA around bite marks can identify the guilty serpent and may improve treatments.

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  9. Genetics

    Genes influence Ebola’s impact

    A study in a diverse strain of mice shows how the effect of an Ebola infection can depend on genes.

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  10. Neuroscience

    Study of psychiatric disorders is difficult in man and mouse

    Studying human psychiatric disorders in animals presents a challenge. A new study highlights one of the ways scientists can study human mutations by slipping them into mice.

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  11. Genetics

    Men who lose Y chromosome have high risk of cancer

    Losing the Y chromosome in blood cells may bring on cancer and shorten men’s lives.

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  12. Plants

    How female ferns make younger neighbors male

    Precocious female ferns release a partly formed sexual-identity hormone, and nearby laggards finish it and go masculine.

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