Evolution will determine how COVID changes after Omicron

Evolution will determine how COVID changes after Omicron

Ewen Callaway | 
How SARS-CoV-2 evolves over the next several months and years will determine what the end of this global crisis looks ...
Can vaccines prevent long COVID?

Can vaccines prevent long COVID?

Heidi Ledford | 
Vaccines reduce the risk of long COVID by lowering the chances of contracting COVID-19 in the first place. But for ...
Who owns your genes? Book review of ‘The Genome Defense’

Who owns your genes? Book review of ‘The Genome Defense’

Heidi Ledford | 
In 2009, [lawyer Chris] Hansen, a veteran of civil-rights cases at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in New York ...
Will vaccine makers be prepared if a COVID variant worse than Delta evolves?

Will vaccine makers be prepared if a COVID variant worse than Delta evolves?

Emily Waltz | 
What does it take to be nimble enough to design and test an updated vaccine against an unknown viral strain, ...
5 global guidelines for DNA research on human remains: Proposal issued by 60 scientists in 30 countries

5 global guidelines for DNA research on human remains: Proposal issued by 60 scientists in 30 countries

Institutional or governmental guidelines for obtaining permission to analyse ancient individuals vary and do not always ensure ethical and engaged ...
Growing crops in space? Biotechnology could make that a reality

Growing crops in space? Biotechnology could make that a reality

If humankind is ever to undertake long-term space missions and colonization, establishing an efficient space farming system would be essential ...
Viewpoint: ‘We’ve made a mess of our planet with our meddling.’ Should we engineer animal species to set things right?

Viewpoint: ‘We’ve made a mess of our planet with our meddling.’ Should we engineer animal species to set things right?

Gaia Vince | 
We’ve made a mess of the planet with our meddling. Now, thanks to biotechnology, we have tools… to repair it ...
Is ‘serious genetic condition’ a useful term?

Is ‘serious genetic condition’ a useful term?

Corinna Clark, Felicity Boardman | 
Despite no consensus on the definition of ‘seriousness’, the concept is regularly used in policy and practice contexts to categorize ...
Infographic: Scientists under attack for publicly discussing the science on COVID and vaccines

Infographic: Scientists under attack for publicly discussing the science on COVID and vaccines

Bianca Nogrady | 
Infectious-diseases physician Krutika Kuppalli had been in her new job for barely a week in September 2020, when someone phoned ...
Will the Biden Administration ‘follow the science’ on agricultural biotechnology regulatory reform?

Will the Biden Administration ‘follow the science’ on agricultural biotechnology regulatory reform?

Henry Miller, John Cohrssen | 
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the US Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology, a blueprint for federal ...
What can explain humans' complex cognitive capacity? Brain maps might give us answers

What can explain humans’ complex cognitive capacity? Brain maps might give us answers

Alison Abbott | 
Imagine looking at Earth from space and being able to listen in on what individuals are saying to each other ...
If genetic therapy could cure or eradicate autism, should it be made available? The autistic community is not so sure

If genetic therapy could cure or eradicate autism, should it be made available? The autistic community is not so sure

Katharine Sanderson | 
A large, UK-based study of genetics and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been paused, following criticism that it failed to ...
mRNA COVID vaccines were decades in the making

mRNA COVID vaccines were decades in the making

Elie Dolgin | 
In the 1990s and for most of the 2000s, nearly every vaccine company that considered working on mRNA opted to ...
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In a global first, injection-free DNA-based COVID-19 vaccine approved — and more in the works

Smriti Mallapaty | 
India has approved a new COVID-19 vaccine that uses circular strands of DNA to prime the immune system against the ...
Infographic: Growing human embryos — How long should researchers watch human development play out in a dish?

Infographic: Growing human embryos — How long should researchers watch human development play out in a dish?

Kendall Powell | 
In May, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) released new guidelines that relaxed the 14-day rule, taking away ...
Intriguing new clues revealed about the genetics and evolution of homosexuality

Intriguing new clues revealed about the genetics and evolution of homosexuality

Sara Reardon | 
In a study of data from hundreds of thousands of people, researchers have now identified genetic patterns that could be ...
‘Phenomenal advancements’ in gene drive technology to eradicate disease-carrying mosquitoes

‘Phenomenal advancements’ in gene drive technology to eradicate disease-carrying mosquitoes

Ethan Bier | 
Gene drives are selfish genetic elements that are transmitted to progeny at super-Mendelian (>50%) frequencies.  Recently developed CRISPR–Cas9-based gene-drive systems ...
Biodiversity surprise: In Quebec, there are 25% more species than 500 years ago, challenging ecosystem catastrophists, Nature reports

Biodiversity surprise: In Quebec, there are 25% more species than 500 years ago, challenging ecosystem catastrophists, Nature reports

Gayathri Vaidyanathan | 
[Mark] Vellend, who teaches at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec, Canada, poses a question to his students every year: ...
‘Inflammation clock’: There is now a tool to measure your biological age

‘Inflammation clock’: There is now a tool to measure your biological age

Max Kozlov | 
A new type of age ‘clock’ can assess chronic inflammation to predict whether someone is at risk of developing age-related ...
Nature study finds growth and body composition of Zebra finches are 'positively impacted' by early life exposure to low doses of neonicotinoids

Nature study finds growth and body composition of Zebra finches are ‘positively impacted’ by early life exposure to low doses of neonicotinoids

Neonicotinoids are insecticides widely used as seed treatments that appear to have multiple negative effects on birds at a diversity ...
As parents debate whether to have their children vaccinated, specter of juvenile long COVID looms

As parents debate whether to have their children vaccinated, specter of juvenile long COVID looms

Dyani Lewis | 
Most people who survive COVID-19 recover completely. But for some, the poorly understood condition that’s become known as long COVID ...
Humans have been addicted to carbs since before we even domesticated crops

Humans have been addicted to carbs since before we even domesticated crops

Andrew Curry | 
Over the past four years, [researcher Laura] Dietrich has discovered that the people who built [the world’s oldest temple discovered] ...
An instinct for numbers? Ancient humans and even some animals evolved the ability to count

An instinct for numbers? Ancient humans and even some animals evolved the ability to count

Colin Barras | 
Although researchers once thought that humans were the only species with a sense of quantity, studies since the mid-twentieth century ...
For those who got COVID-19, immunity could last for the rest of your life

For those who got COVID-19, immunity could last for the rest of your life

Ewen Callaway | 
Many people who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 will probably make antibodies against the virus for most of their lives ...
Here’s why mixing and matching shots is likely superior than using just one brand

Here’s why mixing and matching shots is likely superior than using just one brand

Ewen Callaway | 
Vaccinating people with both the Oxford–AstraZeneca and Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines produces a potent immune response against the virus SARS-CoV-2, researchers ...
Should I wear a mask? More than one year into the pandemic, science provides updated advice

Should I wear a mask? More than one year into the pandemic, science provides updated advice

Lynne Peeples | 
The evidence is clear that masks cut down on COVID-19 deaths, but nearly a year and a half into the ...
Viewpoint: Why loosening rules on human embryo use in stem cell research was a good move

Viewpoint: Why loosening rules on human embryo use in stem cell research was a good move

Robin Lovell-Badge | 
Most scientists want clear boundaries delineating which experiments [on human embryos] are acceptable, both legally and to society. And the ...
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