Epigenetics may explain Neanderthals’ extinction

Virginia Hughes | 
Late last year, scientists unveiled the complete genome of a female Neanderthal whose 130,000-year-old toe bone had been found in a cave in Siberia ...
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Some kids un-develop autism. Could their genes be responsible?

Meredith Knight | 
Scientists are focusing attention on a group of autistic children who improve so much they essentially outgrow the diagnosis. Although ...

Does smoking while pregnant harm babies’ DNA?

Jennifer Balmer | 
Pregnant women who smoke don’t just harm the health of their baby—they may actually impair their child’s DNA, according to ...

Temporary mutations may allow organisms to adapt to sudden changes in environment

Scientists from the Duke University School of Medicine say that they discovered that microorganisms can use a temporary silencing of drug targets, ...

Protein linked to obesity, diabetes risk

A protein that controls when genes are switched on or off plays a key role in specific areas of the ...

Scientists attempt to determine role of epigenetics in cancer

Helen Thomson | 
You could be forgiven for thinking of cancer as a genetic disease. Sure, we know it can be triggered by ...
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Can we regulate gene editing without killing it?

Tabitha M. Powledge | 
CRISPR and other gene-editing methods, plus gene drives, are suddenly here and now. They offer unprecedented possibilities for genetic modification ...
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Epigenetics can drive cancer, may be target for new treatments

Kenrick Vezina | 
The first direct evidence that epigenetics alone -- tweaks to gene expression -- can drive cancer in mice demonstrates that ...
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Google wants to define health using Big Data

Kenrick Vezina | 
Google's getting in on the big-genome-analysis game with the "Baseline Project," which seeks to examine gather information (genomic and otherwise) ...

Twins study sheds light on language development

A study of 473 sets of twins followed since birth found that compared to single-born children, 47 percent of 24-month-old ...
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For Jamaican athletes, speediness is in the genes

Michael Brooks | 
Let's put political correctness aside: World class athletic ability is in the genes, and the success of Jamaican sprinting just ...

DNA replication model provides new tool for molecular geneticists

Human cells make new copies of their DNA billions of times each day, a crucial process upon which life itself ...
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Largest-ever genetic study of schizophrenia cements genetic links

Kenrick Vezina | 
By identifying more than 100 new distinct genetic regions associated with schizophrenia, an international team of hundreds of scientists may ...

Are environmental pollutants causing heritable disease?

W. Wayt Gibbs | 
Michael Skinner, a professor of biology at Washington State University, ignited a firestorm of debate in 2005 when he and ...

CDC Report: Genomics ready to help prevent disease

Muin Khoury | 
[B]oth zip and genetic codes are important for our health. Genetic factors are known to play a role in nine ...
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Free-floating RNA and sperm might be pathway for epigenetics

Meredith Knight | 
Scientists find that sperm can potentially carry RNA from the body's cells to offspring. Is this finally evidence of a ...

Could bariatric surgery change metabolic gene expression?

Virginia Hughs | 
Every week, about 20 people visit the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania to be evaluated for weight-loss surgery ...

Epigenetic damage affects humans too says Washington State biologist

W. Wayt Gibbs | 
Michael Skinner, a professor of biology at Washington State University, ignited a firestorm of debate in 2005 when he and ...
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Mom’s pregnancy diet affects her children and grandchildren

Dina Fine Maron | 
What mom eats during pregnancy dramatically influences not only the health of her kids but future generations as well. That’s ...

Fish with a placenta? How did evolution come up with that?

Ed Yong | 
With their impressive fins and stunning colours, the poeciliids—a group of small fish that includes guppies, mollies and swordtails—are understandably ...

C-sections cause epigenetic changes in gene regions regulating babies’ immune systems

Stephen Luntz | 
Babies coming into the world by cesarean section experience epigenetic changes, a study has found. So far there has not ...
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Scientists look for ‘gerontogens’ substances that work with our genes to induce aging

Ed Yong | 
Why do our bodies age at different rates? Why can some people run marathons at the age of 70 while ...

Donor egg pregnancies increase risk for complications for moms

Laura Donnelly | 
Women who become pregnant using donated eggs have at least three times the risk of developing serious complications, a major ...
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What causes diabetes? Genes and viruses likely culprits

Ben Locwin | 
Scientists know there is a genetic component to diabetes, but the origins of the disease remain elusive, with genetics and ...

Stem cell creation technique changes their usability

Anna Azvolinsky | 
In the process of converting a somatic cell to a stem cell, researchers have questioned whether the resulting cells retain ...
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Shaking up science with transgenerational epigenetics and blurred species boundaries

Kenrick Vezina | 
A "top five ideas shaking up science" list from The Guardian and author Michael Brooks hits on two of the ...
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DNA in rogue databases and genetic privacy

Tabitha M. Powledge | 
"Rogue databases," artistic renders, much can be learned from the DNA that each of us sheds all the time without ...
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