Health & Medicine
100 billion neurons make up our brain—how does it all work?
[Editor's note: Sara Linker and Tracy Bedrosian are postdoctoral research fellows in the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute for ...
Two of a kind? Twins offer unique glimpse into human development
In the world of genetics, identical twins offer a valuable source for study. And they've shown that our genetic makeup ...
14 corn genes identified that could boost vitamin E levels
New research has identified genes that control vitamin E content in maize grain, a finding that could lead to improving ...
Unlocking the mystery of complex diseases
In our effort to find the answers to some of the most afflicting conditions and diseases known to science, biologists ...
There’s a reason you have trouble thinking and remembering when hunger sets in
Why is it so hard to think while you're hungry? Researchers now believe it may come down to one protein ...
Viewpoint: Gender equity debate demands understanding of biological differences
[Editor's notes: Marta Iglesias is a predoctoral researcher in the Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, Lisbon. Her research is focused on how ...
Creating a brain cell ‘periodic table’ from live tissue
There are 86 billion neurons in the human brain and no two of them are exactly alike. If doctors and ...
Viewpoint: Confirmation bias, conflicts of interest plague ‘science’ behind glyphosate cancer claims
Anti-biotech activists hate the herbicide glyphosate, sold by Monsanto under the brand name Roundup. Those activists won a victory in ...
Cost effective? What DNA screening might catch that we are not likely to find
Known broadly as the MyCode Community Health Initiative and run by the Danville-based Geisinger Health System, the effort has so ...
CRISPR gene-edited cassava could help stave off food crisis in Nigeria
Cassava brown streak disease can keep a cassava farmer awake at night. It can lead to complete crop loss, is difficult to ...
Bangladesh releases high-yielding disease-resistant wheat variety to farmers
As wheat farmers in Bangladesh struggle to recover from a 2016 outbreak of a mysterious disease called “wheat blast,” the country’s National ...
Universally shared biodata could create powerful ‘internet of living things’
Imagine students in universities becoming the first “sequencing line of defense” by detecting bacteria resistant to antibiotics and educating their ...
Cancer treatments gain strength when linked to genomic tests and therapy
In an interview with ETHealthworld, Dr Govind Babu, Associate Professor at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bengaluru, discusses the rapid advancements in genomics, ...
IQ debate: How much of intelligence is determined by genetics?
[Editor's note: Robert Plomin is deputy director of the MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Center at King’s College London.] ...
If you aren’t a morning person, evolution may be to blame
[A] study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences in July suggests our bodies and ...
‘Designer babies’ are coming soon, but who gets to have them?
Designer babies are coming in 20 to 30 years. Your children will be able to select, to some degree, their ...
The race to grow meat without slaughtering animals—can genetic engineering help?
Operating with a team of just 10 (though it's expected to grow to 40 in a matter of months), [Memphis ...
‘Awakened’ vegetative man shows how viral stories raise false hopes
A man recently “woke” from a vegetative state, crying again after “regaining consciousness,” creating a flurry of news coverage. Yet as exciting ...
Argument for rolling our clocks back: Your brain needs the morning boost
Shifting the clock back one hour means more people won't have to wake up before sunrise. When you wake to ...
Viewpoint: Anti-GMO activist Doug Gurian-Sherman’s Food Evolution review misrepresents Uganda banana research
[Editor's note: Patricia Nanteza is a science communicator at Uganda's National Banana Research Program. The following is excerpted from her letter to ...
GM yeast grows non-psychoactive marijuana compound for potential epilepsy treatment
A non-psychoactive compound found in marijuana plants called cannabidivarin (CBDV) has shown promise in the treatment of severe cases of epilepsy ...
Two US Congressional committees ask IARC cancer agency to testify, citing ‘scientific integrity’ concerns
Two influential U.S. Congressmen have asked the World Health Organization’s cancer agency to get ready to testify about its work ...
Gene silencing could control disease, contamination in wheat and other crops
Fusarium graminearum is a major fungal pathogen of cereals worldwide, causing seedling, stem base and floral diseases, including Fusarium Head ...
Viewpoint: ‘GMO paranoia’ blocking scientifically sound solutions to food system problems
According to NPR’s All Things Considered, [genetically engineered pigs] could save farmers millions of dollars on heating and food. ...
Australia imports over 60 GMO food crops—but farmers can only grow one
Food derived from 60 genetically modified crops can be imported into Australia, but local growers can only grow one GM ...
Conjoined twins: How do you decide which one to save?
Doctors at the MassGeneral Hospital for Children faced an ethical challenge when a pair of conjoined twins born in Africa ...
Video: How glyphosate herbicide enables no-till, environmentally friendly farming
[Editor's note: Jake Freestone is the manager of an arable and sheep LEAF Demonstration Farm in Tewkesbury, England.] [N]o-till or zero-till, ...