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Articles on Genetics

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Fashion tastes probably change too. Simon Whittaker

How your grandparents’ life could have changed your genes

If your great-grandparents lived through a famine, their experience could well have altered their genetic code. And three generations later you could well be showing signs of that change. The idea that…
Ash dieback - wilting our leaves since September 2012. Gareth Fuller/PA

We must develop the genetic tools to fight ash dieback

Ashwellthorpe Lower Wood in Norfolk, England has been managed by coppicing, an ancient form of forestry, for more than a thousand years. It was recorded as coppiced woodland in the Domesday Book published…
Even with water temperatures down to -20°C, Deep Lake is home to a surprising amount of life (and not just our research camp). Rick Cavicchioli

Sub-zero heroes: extremophiles call salty Antarctic lakes home

Imagine a lake so salty its water exists in a liquid state at -20 °C – then picture something thriving in that seemingly lethal environment. Such an organism exists; several of them, in fact. In a paper…
Double jet lag? No thanks. Dr D Wilcockson, IBERS, Aberystwyth University

Coastal creatures have two genetic body clocks

You get hauled out of bed in the morning not just because of an alarm clock. We are genetically encoded with a 24-hour (circadian) body clock that allows us to live in harmony with our environment. But…
The difference between developing as a normal male and being intersex can be down to a single gene. briansuda

Ambiguous genitals? You may have wrinkly genes

Sex in mammals, including mouse and human, is determined genetically and depends on the paternal sex chromosome - X or Y - received at the time of fertilisation. If nothing goes wrong, an XX individual…
Metal-resistant trout: first Cornish rivers, then the world. Philthy54

The trout that like heavy metal

Contaminated during the surrounding area’s history of mining, the River Hayle in Cornwall contains metals including copper, zinc, nickel and cadmium at levels that can kill brown trout, a particularly…
On the comeback trail? flickr: London looks

Mammoth cloning: the ethics

The display of a frozen mammoth in Japan has again raised questions as to the possibility of creating a live born clone of extinct animals. Theoretically, mammoths could be cloned by recovering, reconstructing…
What matters more when it comes to intelligence: nature or nurture? Brain image from www.shutterstock.com

Are genes really the reason more poor kids do badly at school?

A news report recently informed readers that the reason children from poorer backgrounds struggle is due to genetic “inherited abilities”. According to the article, a new Productivity Commission report…
RNA is similar to DNA in lots of ways. But an extra oxygen atom makes all the difference. Image from shutterstock.com

Explainer: what is RNA?

Our genetic material is encoded in DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). DNA is famous. But you may also have also heard of RNA (ribonucleic acid). So, what is RNA, and what is it good for? Quite a lot really…
Three metres of DNA is looped and folded so it fits into a tiny human cell nucleus, but what other effects does this have? dullhunk

Kinky genes: how we fit three metres of DNA into a cell nucleus

When scientists first decided to sequence the human genome, it seemed an impossibly large and complicated challenge. A decade since achieving this aim, scientists are faced with a similarly overwhelming…
At least I’m not French … oh, wait. Mark Richards/PA

Will-I-Am Indian, but does it matter?

The front-page of The Times carried a story today that William could be “Britain’s first king to have proven Indian ancestry”. The story continues inside, along with an advert for the personal DNA testing…
The Times claimed today that Prince William has Indian ancestors. Vincent Lyon-Dalberg-Acton

Attention The Times: Prince William’s DNA is not a toy

An ancestor of Prince William’s from the 19th century was half Indian, according to The Times. This claim is based on analysis of his distant cousins’ DNA. We have such technology today, but how comfortable…
The genetic mutation causes hearing to deteriorate in the late teens or early twenties and get progressively worse with age. Image from shutterstock.com

Genetic mutation causes deafness – now researchers know how

Australian researchers have uncovered the mechanism by which a rare genetic mutation causes premature deafness in people in their early twenties, paving the way for early detection for this type of hearing…
The humble fruit fly: teaching us more about melanoma skin cancer. Flickr/John Tann

Genes help spread of shape-shifting skin cancer cells

Melanomas may be less common than other skin cancers but their ability to become malignant and spread to other parts of the body makes them some of the deadliest if not caught early. More than 10,000 people…
Mice have revealed many of biology’s secrets. Stuart Read/APN

Animals in research: mice

Our series, Animals in Research, profiles the top organisms used for science experimentation. Here, we look at a species familiar to most: Mus musculus, or the mouse. Mice have been close companions of…

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