Personalized Medicine
Cells’ defense systems may play role in causing autism
What causes autism is a mystery. One theory is that a phenomenon called the cellular-danger response lies at the root ...
Stem cell creation technique changes their usability
In the process of converting a somatic cell to a stem cell, researchers have questioned whether the resulting cells retain ...
Using genetic risk and math, scientists predict which teen drinkers will develop problem
Scientists have pinpointed lots of factors that increase the risk of alcohol misuse — a bit. Adolescents who are anxious ...
Sherpas inherited ability to thrive in high altitudes from extinct humans
A new study shows that Nepalese people who live at high altitudes have a gene variant inherited from human’s ancient ...
Genetically engineered red blood cells could be drug delivery drones
Red blood cells may one day do more than carry oxygen around the body – they have been genetically engineered ...
H1N1 flu controversially engineered to escape immune system
A controversial scientist who carried out provocative research on making influenza viruses more infectious has completed his most dangerous experiment ...
Quick and dirty gene exchanges not just for bacteria
A single gene from bacteria has been donated to fungi on at least 15 occasions. The discovery shows that an ...
Gene modification of adult cells offers more hope for Type 1 diabetes than stem cells
By deleting a single gene in human gut endocrine progenitor and serotonin-producing cells, researchers reported that they were able convert ...
Developmental brain gene protects against Alzheimer’s disease
More than five million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer's disease. Scientists at Harvard Medical School and their colleagues have ...
Our primate ancestors enjoyed a nip, too
When we think about the origins of agriculture and crop domestication, alcohol isn’t necessarily the first thing that comes to ...
Rare genetic disorder that ended college star’s pro hoops career hopes shines light on Marfan syndrome
Four days before Baylor University basketball star Isaiah Austin hoped to be drafted into the NBA, his dreams of playing ...
Employees can protect themselves against workplace genetic discrimination
As genetic testing and genetic information become increasingly available, it is critical that employers have a full understanding of current ...
Anti-GMO advocates try to scare diabetics off life-saving genetically engineered drug treatment
Usually food-obsessed anti-GMO advocates have turned their sights toward one of modern technology’s must prized successes: genetically engineered synthetic human ...
Woman seeks to ban surrogacy
Jennifer Lahl is on a crusade to outlaw surrogacy, the process by which women lend their wombs to would-be mothers ...
Payout deadline approaches for North Carolina forced sterilization victims
In 1948, as Naomi Schenck was rushed into a North Carolina operating room because she was having a miscarriage, the ...
Faced with a sick brother, reporter wonders whether to get DNA tested
In the fall of 2010, as my brother was dying of colon cancer, I learned a terrifying secret. He also ...
Including vasectomies in court sentencing new eugenics
Put this in the "can they even do that?" files. Jesse Lee Herald of Edinburg, Virginia, received an unusual sentence ...
Shaking up science with transgenerational epigenetics and blurred species boundaries
A "top five ideas shaking up science" list from The Guardian and author Michael Brooks hits on two of the ...
T-cells trained to fight viruses offer hope for bone marrow transplant patients
A team at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas has devised a much more efficient method for 'training' killer ...
Exercise, stress speeds brain’s ability to repair iteself
Running helps mice to recover from a type of blindness caused by sensory deprivation early in life, researchers report. The ...
Gamete freezing offers promise of prolonging fertility but is far from perfect
I told my therapist that I was considering freezing my eggs, and she said she thought it was a good ...
Genesis and ethics of embryo’s conceived with help of a third parent
In August 1996, at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, N.J., a 39-year-old mechanical engineer from Pittsburgh named Maureen Ott ...
Picture of risk: One family’s story of the threat of genetic disease
When a fetus may have a genetic condition, parents face a great deal of uncertainty when evaluating risk for their ...
Claim Ashkenazi Jews are descendants of pagan Khazars who converted in Middle Ages confirmed as myth
The claim that today’s Ashkenazi Jews are descended from Khazars who converted in the Middle Ages is a myth, according ...
Reverse reefer madness? Schizophrenia genes predict heavy pot use
Does marijuana smoking cause psychosis? Or could psychosis drive pot smoking? If you believe the panned and parodied 1936 film ...
Fetal genome sequencing must strike balance of too much information
Once you go beyond looking for specific genetic mutations—such as those that cause Down syndrome or cystic fibrosis—and begin exploring ...
Nature vs. nurture affects how we age
What makes us age biologically? We have always been intrigued by this question. Yet, it remains a fundamental research challenge ...