Ed Yong
Single gene controls butterfly wing pattern
Female Common Mormon butterflies (Papilio polytes) are a varied lot. Some look like the black-and-white males, but others mimic the ...
The cross-species merger that made life as we know it possible
The transition from the classic prokaryotic, nucleus-free model to the deluxe eukaryotic one is arguably the most important event in ...
What is a ‘healthy’ microbiome?
A group of culturally isolated villagers in the Amazon may hold the key to showing us what a healthy microbiome, ...
Finding more disease genes, faster
Researchers string together disease genes to create networks that help explain the interactions between the genes, and, better yet, find ...
Scientists wrong in linking gene to whale and dolphin brain evolution
In 2012, a team of Chinese scientists showed that a gene called ASPM has gone through bouts of accelerated evolution ...
Co-evolution of human and microbe reduces risk of stomach cancer
The Colombian town of Tuquerres, nestled high in the Andes Mountains, has one of the highest rates of stomach cancer ...
Advances in using tailored cell cultures to test genetic disease treatments
Here’s a vision of the future. You’re diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder. Your doctors take a sample of your ...
Nearly a quarter of cow genome comes from snakes
According to a new article, “horizontal gene transfer” allows genes to cut themselves out of surrounding DNA and paste themselves ...
Researchers hammering away at a chink in HIV’s armor
HIV evades the immune system by use of a protein coat. Now researchers have shown that the coat can be ...
“Jumping DNA” explains why humans are less genetically diverse than chimps
Our genome isn’t static; some of it can move about. We’re loaded with stretches of DNA that can copy themselves ...
“Find and Replace” across an entire genome
It couldn’t be easier to make sweeping edits on a computer document. If I were so inclined, I could find ...
Genome studies reveal roots of TB drug resistance
A new catalogue of tuberculosis bacteria genomes may help researchers ID and treat drug-resistant strains ...
The tiny genes that control heartbeats
The regular heartbeats of humans and fruit flies both depend on tiny genes that have gone unnoticed because of their ...
Giant viruses open Pandora’s box
Jean-Michel Claverie and Chantal Abergel, evolutionary biologists at Aix-Marseille University in France, didn't know what they'd found in a water ...
DNA superstorage: Apocalypse-proofing the world’s data
In terms of information density, DNA outclasses anything we’ve been able to invent. Two scientists think all the world's information ...
Shutting down the extra chromosome in Down’s syndrome
Researchers have shut down the third, extra, Down's-syndrome-causing copy of the 21st chromosome in human cells ...
Researchers sequence genomes of microbe species beyond the lab
The tree of life is dominated by microbes, but many large branches remain uncharted because scientists have been historically restricted ...
Bacterial DNA found in human genomes
The following is an excerpt. A team of scientists from the University of Maryland School of Medicine has found the ...
Muscle disease gene identified in fish
The following is an excerpt. If you prod a zebrafish embryo, it will normally twitch its tail and try to ...
A minimalist genome: Sometimes “junk” DNA really is junk
Whether or not "junk" DNA is actually useful has been a topic of debate. A new paper in Nature examining ...
Lily Grossman: Medicine — and hope — via genomics
The utility of whole genome sequencing is debated, but Lily Grossman's story offers compelling evidence for its potential ...
Genomes link aboriginal Australians to Indians
Some aboriginal Australians can trace as much as 11% of their genomes to migrants who reached the island around 4,000 ...
How a quarter of the cow genome came from snakes
Genomes are often described as recipe books for living things. If that’s the case, many of them badly need an ...
Nature creates genetically modified organisms — including humans
Despite some concerns over the transfer of DNA from one organism to another to create genetically modified crops and animals, ...
Will we ever decipher everything about a life form based just on its DNA?
As our technologies and understanding advance, will we eventually be able to look at a pile of raw DNA sequence ...
