Ancestry & Evolution
The desire to understand our origins is primal. By examining our DNA over successive generations through the evolutionary process of inherited characteristics of human and animal populations–as well as from those species from which humans share a common ancestry–we can decipher our individual and collective past and develop medical innovations for the future.
Below is the complete archive of related articles sorted by date.
Newly isolated ‘Beige fat’ cells could help fight obesity
Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have isolated a new type of energy-burning fat cell in adult humans which they say ...
Scientists identify rare gene mutation that protects against Alzheimer’s
After years of studying genes that increase risk for Alzheimer’s disease, scientists report the promising discovery of DNA that does ...
Cells derived from burn tissue may be useful for tissue engineering
A research team in the Netherlands has found that cells from burn eschar, the non-viable tissue remaining after burn injury ...
Should genetic screening be more supervised?
Thirteen-day-old Boxi is a "designer baby", genetically selected as her stem cells can be used to save her sister. We ...
Skin cancer-promoting gene discovered
Researchers have discovered a gene that plays a central role in black skin cancer, also known as melanoma. Suppressing this ...
Some insurers hesitate to embrace genetic testing
"For some people, the first symptom of this is cardiac arrest — they drop dead on the soccer field, the ...
Article addresses tremendous impact of genetic testing for Alzheimer’s
Genetic tests exist to identify risk for the rare inherited form of early-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to predict susceptibility ...
Virginia governor issues executive order for newborn screening
Critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) affects 300 infants in Virginia each year. Gov. Bob McDonnell has directed a work group ...
DNA mapping of Alzheimer’s patients gives deep dive view
Over the past 18 months, 81-year-old Bill Bunnell has visited the doctor a half-dozen times to take memory tests, provide ...
In Israel, ethnic origin category scrapped for genetic testing
Jews should no longer be categorized by their ethnic origin when being tested for hereditary conditions, says the Health Ministry ...
Genes for breast size found
Researchers have identified seven genetic markers linked with a woman's breast size, according to a new study. While it's was ...
A topically applied skin lotion that modifies your genes
Future genetic therapy could be as simple as applying a topical lotion, with nanoscale compounds soaking through your epidermis to ...
A community’s twist on genetic tests
In Williamsburg, a bustling Brooklyn enclave across the East River from Manhattan, a sect of ultra-Orthodox Jews dresses in garb ...
Scientists tie DNA repair to key cell signaling network
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have found a surprising connection between a key DNA-repair process and a ...
The genetic legacy of “Jewish Catholics”
At the time of the expulsion of 1492, Sephardi Jewry comprised the vast majority of world Jewry, totaling about 400,000 ...
Transgenic technique to ‘eliminate’ a specific neural circuit of the brain in primates
In the brains of humans and non-human primates, over 100 billion nerve cells build up complicated neural circuits and produce ...
More genes pegged to Osteoarthritis
A large genome-wide association study has identified eight new loci that confer susceptibility to osteoarthritis, researchers reported ...
The black is a better athlete?
Michael Johnson, the 4-time Olympic Gold Medal winning sprinter, is standing by his assertion that black athletes have a "speed ...
Update on gene therapy
Researchers at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) published proof-of-principle results showing a role for telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) ...
FDA critical of stem-cell firm
The Sugar Land company involved in Gov. Rick Perry's unlicensed adult stem-cell procedure is rife with basic manufacturing problems, according ...
Genetic variant is linked to obesity and insulin resistance
A large study in people at risk of diabetes has found a direct association between the presence of a small ...
Targeted gene therapy enhances treatment for Pompe disease
Gene therapy to replace the protein missing in Pompe disease can be effective if the patient's immune system does not ...
First farmers: 7,000 year old caveman bones found
Spanish researchers have discovered the complete mitochondrial DNA of an individual that lived 7000 years ago. This discovery is the ...
Fetal tests spur legal battle
Genetic tests that analyze fetal DNA from a pregnant woman's blood are arriving in a rush, but the commercialization of ...
Newcastle genetic experts develop new test for Noonan Syndrome
GENETIC experts in the North East have developed a pioneering test that will improve the speed of diagnosis for an ...
Central body to oversee ‘biobanks’ storing human tissue
THE CREATION of a single Government-funded body to oversee the retention of human tissue samples has moved a step closer ...
Are facial expressions genetic?
“The statistical correlation between the facial expressions of sighted and blind individuals was almost perfect,” Matsumoto said. “This suggests something ...
