nature
Lassa epidemic: Nigeria uses CRISPR to get early jump on viral outbreaks
An epidemic of Lassa fever in Nigeria that has killed 69 people this year is on track to be the ...
Genetic testing could predict potential for cancerous growths to become invasive lung cancer
A type of non-invasive cancer called carcinoma in situ (CIS) can occur in the human lung. Some cases of CIS will ...
Synthetic doubling of life’s DNA alphabet suggests there’s nothing ‘magical’ about life on Earth
The DNA of life on Earth naturally stores its information in just four key chemicals — guanine, cytosine, adenine and ...
Tectonic ‘Origins’: Book examines how Earth’s hills and valleys jumpstarted evolution
In this age of worldwide climatic deterioration, many authors have documented what we are doing to our planet. Lewis Dartnell ...
‘Software’ differences between monkey, human brains could explain our susceptibility to mental illness
Neuroscientists have for the first time discovered differences between the ‘software’ of humans and monkey brains, using a technique that ...
Japan approves stem-cell therapy for spinal cord injuries—but does it even work?
Japan has approved a stem-cell treatment for spinal-cord injuries. The event marks the first such therapy for this kind of ...
When it comes to food, pesticides and drugs, does ‘natural’ mean safer or healthier?
From a scientific point of view, an evaluation is done on a case by case basis, whether it is a ...
Viewpoint: The problem with personalized medicine is that ‘statistics are being misinterpreted’
Personalized medicine aims to match individuals with the therapy that is best suited to them and their condition. Advocates proclaim ...
Viewpoint: Science needs to embrace the difference between sex and gender—without abandoning the past
Lots of sites, including three scientific societies, have rejected the new Health and Human Services guidelines that provide a classification of ...
Attacking Parkinson’s with ‘reprogrammed’ stem cells
Japanese neurosurgeons have implanted ‘reprogrammed’ stem cells into the brain of a patient with Parkinson’s disease for the first time ...
UN rejects gene drive moratorium, but agrees to some limits
Nations rejected a proposal to temporarily ban the release of organisms carrying gene drives — a genetic-engineering technology designed to ...
Lab-grown ‘mini brains’ are similar to those of premature babies and why that’s a concern
‘Mini brains’ grown in a dish have spontaneously produced human-like brain waves for the first time — and the electrical ...
The future is now: Here are the most promising synthetic biology projects
Never has it been more possible to engineer biology (see ‘Tailor, not tinker’). But solving grand problems requires a switch ...
Creating life from the ‘bottom up’: Can we make cells from scratch?
There were just eight ingredients: two proteins, three buffering agents, two types of fat molecule and some chemical energy. But ...
‘Deep learning’ sheds light on natural selection in human DNA
Each person’s genome contains three billion building blocks called nucleotides, and researchers must compile data from thousands of people to ...
Rarely studied African genes fill in ‘blank canvas’ of early human history
Humankind’s early history in Africa is coming into sharper focus with a new study of 180 genomes from a dozen ...
500,000-genome-strong UK Biobank offers ‘wisdom from crowds’
Precision medicine aims to improve treatments for individuals, but to do so it needs information from crowds. Only by tracking ...
Why the patent system could help shape the future of gene editing
A crucial part of the arsenal for shaping the future of gene editing is hiding in plain sight: the patent ...
DNA forensic analysis soon will be ‘vastly more powerful’—good for crime fighting, problematic for privacy
Genetic sleuthing techniques that led to the arrest of a suspect in the infamous Golden State Killer case this year ...
Japan poised to permit gene editing on human embryos by 2019
Japan has issued draft guidelines that allow the use of gene-editing tools in human embryos. The proposal was released by ...
Viewpoint: New book ‘Blueprint’ revisits the dangerous theory of genetic determinism
It’s never a good time for another bout of genetic determinism, but it’s hard to imagine a worse one than ...
Puzzling out how the brain turns electrical pulses into ‘thoughts, actions and emotions’
Neuroscientists have tried for decades to observe the swift electrical signals that are a major component of the brain’s language ...
In-body gene editing successful in first trial, targeting Hunter syndrome
A therapy that edits genes directly in the human body might be safe, suggest early findings from the first trial ...
Video: Looking back at groundbreaking twins research—and its impact on genetics
“I have looked at the data, and I’m collecting the data, and I’m still absolutely astounded. I still haven’t settled ...
Challenging our understanding of the genetics behind the evolution of human language
The evolution of human language was once thought to have hinged on changes to a single gene that were so ...
Humans have never lived ‘in balance with nature,’ and we shouldn’t try to today
Before the agricultural revolution .... life was hard .... And there was no question of living in "harmony with nature." ...
‘Evolution is aimless’: How else do we explain external testicles?
Evolution is a work in progress, so it’s hardly surprising that some of the features it has built into the ...
