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Divide and conquer!
At-home DNA tests are used to offer information about one's ancestors, risks of certain diseases, and other traits, such as eye color.
This new technique is less harmful to the cells and more efficient than other non-viral DNA transfer techniques.
CRISPR is more like a swiss army knife now.
The research could inspire a novel class of microelectronics based on DNA.
Scientists discovered that having children significantly shortened telomeres (genetic markers of aging).
An alcohol metabolite, acetaldehyde, caused significant DNA alterations in mice stem cells.
Genome sequencing of infant found in Alaska reveals new Native American Population
The fist DNA benders!
Scientists took inspiration from digital compression to 'zip' DNA.
That's one really dramatic typo.
It's the first time CRISPR was used to store and retrieve media from DNA.
This can be a game changer.
“Imagine a camel without a hump, with feet like a slender rhino, and a head shaped like a saiga antelope."
From Egypt's pyramids to Viking longboats, cats never left our side since we invented agriculture.
The method can be used for any type of damage where the cell has to replace bits of DNA.
Worrying.
Neanderthals took the herbal equipment of aspirin and penicillin.
A huge breakthrough might help solve our growing 'big data' storage problem.
Some of your bases are belong to us.
That's a lot of coat.
It's not just your lungs either.
Thanks to prehistoric humans and modern DNA tools, scientists have cracked a mystery of science.
So far, the baby girl is happy and healthy.
Smoking is bad for your health, and that includes genes too.
It could be a game-changer for law enforcement.
DNA is so versatile.
Keeping your genes in good condition is priority nr.1 for all life.
A male sex hormone could keep our cells young forever.
Researchers from Lund University in Sweden and the Center of Regenerative Medicine in Barcelona have identified four sequences of genetic code that can reprogram mice skin cells to produce red blood cells. If this method can be used on human tissues, it would provide a reliable source of blood for transfusions and people with anemia.
Scientists want to build and deploy a fully synthetic human genome in human cell lines within 10 years.
This remarkable research could open the doors for biological thermometers at the nanoscale which might tell us a thing or two about how our bodies function at the smallest level.
For archiving purposes, at least, DNA -- the blueprint or genetic recipe that codes all life -- might be worth considering. One team, for instance, coded digital images into synthetic DNA using a novel method, then decoded and read this data.
These predatory amoebas are usually very good at finding enough to eat by themselves, but when food is short they do something astonishing.
Some people have no trouble rising early and being productive, while others are most active during the evenings. This begs the question: are morning persons and night owls set apart by habit or biology? Habits certainly play a leading role, but all things being equal your genes might have a strong word to say in the matter.
A new study finds that many cancers are caused by mutations that block the tumor suppressor gene’s effect, through a process called Intron Retention.
Also known as the water bear, the tardigrade has a lot to be proud of -- this tiny organism is nigh-indestructible, known to have survived in extreme temperatures ( -272C to +151C / -457.6F to 303.8F) and to be the only animal that can brave the vacuum of space unprotected and live to tell the tale.
DNA – you either know is as deoxyribonucleic acid, or that stuff that somehow makes us what we are. DNA is the body’s way of storing information about yourself: how the cells arrange in your body, how hereditary material is organized, and how you function. DNA is classically thought of as a distinctive double helix structure, […]
In what can only be classed as a breakthrough in medicine, a team at Washington University in St. Louis found a way to make an universal test that can identify virtually any known virus. The method works by analyzing bodily samples for signature genetic markers unique to each virus. It's surprisingly accurate, as the researchers report the test not only identified the viruses on par with standard tests, but found additional ones which would have otherwise gone unnoticed. Once it passes extensive clinical trials, doctors using the test could come up with a complete list of viral infections harbored inside a patient's body, correctly diagnose their condition and apply the right treatment. In some situations, it could mean the difference between life and death.
It's been only a decade since the Human Genome Project finished its task of mapping all the code that makes up our DNA. The hard part came later, though - identifying what each piece of code does or, oddly enough, does not. According to the most recent estimate for instance, only 8.2% of the code embedded in the human genome is actually useful, in the sense that it performs a function whether activating a gene, regulating it, and so on. The rest is what scientists class as "junk DNA".
The revelation that DNA chemically self-assembles to build life was a game changer. Now, DNA's self-assembly capability is moving past genetics and into structural mechanics. One of the most astonishing demonstrations involves an automated process which basically 3D prints structures made out of DNA, of all shapes and sizes. For instance, the team at Dresden University of Technology built tiny 3d objects like a bunny, a bottle or even a waving humanoid.
In an announcement that’s been a long time coming for science fiction fans, the White House has, for the first time, come out in support of a global moratorium on altering the human germline. It’s a decision that has implications not just for this particular type of scientific inquiry, but also for the future of […]
We seem to be losing the war on elephant poachers, but a new toolset that involves tracing slaughter hotspots in Africa based on DNA taken from ivory might be exactly what law enforcement needed all these years. This way, researchers at University of Washington, in collaboration with INTERPOL, found that most of the ivory seized since 2006 originates in just two areas.
DNA analysis of the jawbone of a human who lived in modern day Romania some 40,000 years ago has the most Neanderthal ancestry ever seen. Up to 9% of the ancient man's DNA was Neanderthal, suggesting interbreeding occurred much earlier than previously thought. In fact, this European human had a Neanderthal ancestor four to six generations back in his family tree. How would it be to have a Neanderthal for a great-great-great-grandfather?
Dr. Milton Wainwright is trying to convince the world that the found alien life floating some 25 miles in our planet’s atmosphere – but while tabloids gobbled up his story like no tomorrow, the scientific community is much more reluctant to accept his results. Is there any truth to these claims? Let’s have a look. If […]
Scientists are working to gather more and more details about Icelandic DNA, in an attempt to design better drugs and understand how drugs react to genetic variation. So far, the DNA of over 1% of all Icelanders has been sequenced and more will likely follow. This operation is conducted by Amgen's DeCode Genetics. The team now claims that they can identify every woman at high-risk of breast cancer "at the touch of a button" and it would be "criminal" not to use the information.
You may look more like your mom or more like your dad, but technically, you inherit equal amounts of genetic information from both; however, a new study has shown that you (and all mammals for that matter) are genetically more like their dads. If that sounds a bit confusing... well, it is. Specifically, although we inherit equal amounts of genetic mutations from both our parents, the mutations that make us who we are and not some other person actually 'use' more of the DNA that we inherit from our dads.
The carnivorous bladderwort (Utricularia gibba) a carnivorous plant which occurs fresh water and wet soil. Recently, they took biologists by surprise by having a huge number of genes, despite a fairly small genome. The plant is six times smaller than the grape for example, but has 28,500 genes, compared to the 26,300 of the grape.
Stanford scientists proved that it's possible use DNA minirings that code the production of a specific protein that can't be found in healthy cells to diagnose any form of cancer. The mini-rings were injected in the bloodstream of mice and allowed for accurate diagnosis up to two days from the injection. In authors envision using the same solution to diagnose any cancer in humans, while also relaying how large is the extent of the tumour. Moreover, they hope they can achieve this with an orally administered pill, instead of an intravenous injection, thus making it the least invasive form of cancer diagnosis. The only pain you'll experience is when doctors will prick a needle in your finger to get a drop of blood. Take that, biopsy!
The best storage medium might actually be DNA, considering the vast amount of information it store relative to its weight - one gram can theoretically hold some 455 exabytes or more than the data collectively stored by all of Google, Facebook and every other tech company. It's also very durable. Remember how some scientists thought about cloning mammoths? Well, the DNA they would use is at least 4,000 years old, but DNA has been extracted and sequenced from much older samples, like a 700,000 years-old horse. With this in mind, some scientists got the idea of storing the most critical pieces of modern human knowledge into specially treated DNA - maybe the most effective time capsule ever.
