How do scientists figure out when evolutionary events – like species splitting away from a common ancestor – happened? It turns out our DNA is a kind of molecular clock, keeping time via genetic changes.
How does one set of genes result in huge horns in males and none at all in females?
Alex Wild
How can the same basic genome produce such different forms in the two sexes of a single species? It turns out one gene can encode for various things, depending on the order its instructions are read.
Tools of diabetes treatment almost always include improved diet and regular exercise.
From www.shutterstock.com
Diabetes, which afflicts 29 million people in the U.S., remains a difficult disease to treat. Read how an algorithm devised by MIT researchers could help.
Dental calculus deposits show this Neadertal was eating poplar, a source of aspirin, and moulded vegetation including Penicillium fungus, source of a natural antibiotic.
Paleoanthropology Group MNCN-CSIC
A new report from the National Academies of Science and Medicine outlines conditions that have to be met before gene editing that results in heritable genomic changes can be considered.
Every single Cavendish banana plant worldwide is genetically identical. This vast monoculture sets them up for disastrous disease outbreaks. But researchers have ideas on how to protect the crop.
Do we contain the most elaborate set of instructions?
Genome image via www.shutterstock.com.
Many of the genes and transcripts associated with schizophrenia are only found in humans, which makes studying the disorder difficult. But scientists are slowly making progress.
Cutting and pasting DNA – it’s a bit like fitting in LEGO blocks.
Bush 41 Library/Flickr
Modern biological research relies on big data analytics. Vast reservoirs of memory and powerful computing ability mean machines find patterns and make meta-analyses and even predictions for scientists.
Understanding the DNA of tumours allows researchers to target treatment to each individual.
Erika/Flickr
Personalised medicine is based on the idea that by understanding the specific molecular code of a person’s disease, and particularly its genetic makeup, we can more accurately tailor treatment.