Science 2.0
Are organic farmers over-using pesticides?
If you think you don't need to wash organic food before you eat it, I think you need a sanity ...
Human stem cells repair damaged retinal tissue in mice
Human induced-pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from human umbilical cord-blood are capable of repairing damaged retinal vascular tissue in mice, ...
New genes linked to increased chance of gaining abdominal fat
Excess abdominal fat is an indicator for heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer and a person's measure of such ...
Locust has the largest genome in the animal kingdom
Researchers have decoded the whole genome sequence of one widespread species and it turns out to be remarkably big - ...
Radioactivity might mutate DNA beyond the standard four nucleotide bases
Recently, scientists have begun to make precise genetic modifications to genes in order to move a beneficial effect of one ...
When it comes to DNA, fears of ‘Big Brother’ are overblown
A new study shows that when the general public is educated about the intricacies involved in collecting and using medical ...
People really don’t understand their genetic test results
This month, 23andMe, the most prominent genetic home testing company, stopped offering anything more than ancestry results due to a ...
Baby’s health depends on dad’s diet before conception, not just mom’s
Mothers get all the blame these days but a new paper led suggests that the father's diet before conception may ...
Epigenetic alert: Could exericse prevent us from inheriting mom’s obesity?
Epigenetics has been used for rather comical effect in some cases, with a whole lot of things being correlated to ...
Designer sperm for fixing faulty genes
The "new genetics" promises to fix the faulty genes of future generations by introducing new, functioning genes using "designer sperm", ...
Dietary amino acid, once thought redundant, is actually essential
Asparagine, which is found in foods such as meat, eggs, and dairy products, was once considered non-essential because it is ...
Left or right handedness may not be genetic
10 percent of the US is left handed and that is a similar ratio to many populations around the world ...
Why GMO wine grapes would be “cool”
I am 99.9% sure that there will never be commercial production of genetically engineered wine grapes ("GMO" to use the ...
A genetic solution to canola crop losses
The "green seed problem" is a long-standing issue that causes millions of dollars annually in canola crop losses for Canada. Canola is ...
Genetically modified rice brings benefit to wild neighbors
Rice containing a transgenic modification that makes it resistant to a common herbicide can pass that genetic trait to weedy ...
Europeans are less negative about GMOs than portrayed
Europeans may be slightly less anti-science than they are portrayed - at least when it comes to food. Though American ...
Lactose tolerance and convergent genetic adaptations
A genetic phenomenon that allows for the selection of multiple genetic mutations that all lead to a similar outcome - a ...
When a genetic solution saved the French wine industry
The mid to late 1800s was a very difficult time for the European wine grape industry. New pests associated with ...
Tuberculosis genome shows why it’s a wildly successful pathogen
Tuberculosis (TB) is a wildly successful pathogen. It infects up to two billion people in every corner of the world, ...
NIH’s HeLa agreement embraces an expansive definition of familial genetic consent
The NIH has announced an agreement with Henrietta Lacks’ descendants to obtain their consent for access to and use of the HeLa genome ...
GMOs don’t hurt anyone, but opposing them does
How do you demonize scientists who added 3 genes to the 30,000 in rice in order to stop vitamin A ...
Researchers show how RNA molecules and proteins activate the X chromosome
X chromosomes are special, even for genetic material. They differ in number between men and women and to achieve equality ...
Genetic secrets of the world’s toughest little bird
Scientists have revealed the genetic secrets of how a small bird, Parus humilis (ground tit) can survive in one of the ...
Scientists find a new quasi-sexual method of bacterial reproduction
A new report describes a process by which bacteria can have the best of both sexual and asexual reproduction - ...
GE can reduce gas output from cattle
The following is an edited excerpt. A growing population and greater wealth will mean more demand for meat in developing ...
Genetic modification could stop wheat rust epidemic
The following is an edited excerpt. Sr35 has been identified as a gene that enables resistance to a new race, or ...
Chlamydia promotes gene mutations that lead to cancer
The following is an edited excerpt. Chlamydia trachomatis is a human pathogen that is the leading cause of bacterial sexually ...
A modest proposal about how to do GMO food labeling right
The following is an excerpt. Should food with ingredients from genetically engineered crops - "GMOs" - be labeled? Many argue ...