Biotechnology
Researchers link genetic mutation to psychiatric disease and obesity
McGill researchers have identified a small region in the genome that conclusively plays a role in the development of psychiatric ...
Billion dollar babies of the human genome
The Human Genome Project (HGP) deciphered the entirety of the human genetic code in just over a decade. Though science ...
DNA’s half-life identified using fossil bones
We are used to radioactive substances having a half-life, but DNA? Now a study of bones from extinct birds suggests ...
Was Lamarck right? How epigenetics may work
While no biologist believes that organisms can willfully change their physiology in response to their environment and pass those changes ...
Designing babies to breed out disability?
We have a moral obligation to have healthier children, an ethicist tells SBS’s Insight. But how far should we go ...
Scientists find missing link between players in the epigenetic code
Over the last two decades, scientists have come to understand that the genetic code held within DNA represents only part ...
Researchers develop new tool for making genetic engineering of microbial circuits reliably predictable
Synthetic biology is the latest and most advanced phase of genetic engineering, holding great promise for helping to solve some ...
Synthesizing life means faster cures, biologist says
A leader in the field of synthetic biology, J. Craig Venter considers himself an optimist, but he can see the ...
New DNA findings hold potential for cancer treatment
Six years ago, Boise State University biology professor Greg Hampikian and computer science colleague Tim Andersen announced that they had ...
US scientists aim to make human sperm from stem cells
US researchers say they will redouble their efforts to create human sperm from stem cells following the success of a ...
The genetics of nearsightedness, stretch marks, and motion sickness
What do nearsightedness, stretch marks, and motion sickness have to do with each other? They don’t appear to be genetically ...
‘Genetic signatures’ may predict prostate cancer
Researchers have identified genetic "signatures" for aggressive prostate cancer (the second most common cause of death in men, after lung ...
New procedure uses stem cells and patient’s own body fat to rebuild breasts
It's almost every woman's dream: Getting rid of unwanted fat and getting a breast enhancement at the same time ...
Create a baby from stem cells? Research suggests possibility
A breakthrough in fertility research lays open the possibility that gay and lesbian couples could someday have children who are ...
Genetic sleuthing uncovers deadly new virus in Africa
An isolated outbreak of a deadly disease known as acute hemorrhagic fever, which killed two people and left one gravely ...
Researchers build most complex synthetic biology circuit yet
Using genes as interchangeable parts, synthetic biologists design cellular circuits that can perform new functions, such as sensing environmental conditions ...
Scientists share Nobel Prize for ‘groundbreaking’ stem cell work that ‘revolutionized’ science
A British scientist has won the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work in creating stem cells to battle hitherto ...
New DNA test pinpoints newborns’ genetic diseases in days
A faster DNA sequencing machine and streamlined analysis of the results can diagnose genetic disorders in days rather than weeks, ...
ACLU asks Supreme Court to rule on gene patents
The ACLU has petitioned the US Supreme Court to review a Federal Circuit Court’s decision that an isolated DNA sequence ...
How genetics shape political beliefs
Studies of identical twins unequivocally demonstrate the heritability of politically related behavior. What they do not do, though, is explain ...
Gene therapy: Triggering turning genes on and off with light
U.S. researchers have developed a system, triggered by blue light, that can seek out and turn on or off any ...
Bid to save Indian state Chhattisgarh’s wild buffaloes through cloning
Indian state Chhattisgarh has begun an ambitious programme to increase the population of the wild buffalo through cloning ...
Mouse eggs created from stem cells
Mouse eggs can now be cooked up from scratch. Using stem cells, a Japanese team has created healthy eggs that, ...
DNA sequencing: Is science fiction becoming medical fact?
In two papers in major scientific journals, researchers today suggested pushing DNA sequencing into more routine use in the clinic, ...
Anti-genetics NGO slams technique to eliminate hereditary diseases as unethical manipulation
The Center for Genetics and Society, which opposes gene modification on ideological grounds, is portraying as unethical a fertility treatment ...
Past and future: Re-examining Dolly the Sheep, the first cloned animal
Fifteen years ago, scientists in Edinburgh announced to the world an incredible breakthrough: the creation of the first cloned animal--a ...
Disturbing trend: Journalists hype fears when discussing human genetics
Genetics is scary. That’s the popular and entirely regrettable meme that dominates the narrative pushed by “progressive” and hard right ...
