Scientists have been eager to edit genomes to eliminate certain diseases. New WHO reports outlines ethical approaches to research and treatment.
Two girls lay in bed in the dormitory at All Saints Indian Residential School in Lac La Ronge, Sask., in 1945.
(Boorne & May. Library and Archives Canada, e010962312)
We must recognize and understand the harms that malnutrition and nutrition experiments on Indigenous people caused and the legacy they have left.
A tailings pond at an oilsands facility near Fort McMurray, Alta., in July 2012. The estimated cost of reclaiming oilsands mines is almost $31 billion.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Solutions to some of the globe’s most daunting environmental challenges may be closer than you think. Scientists are harnessing nature to clean up toxic chemicals and mining waste.
The emergence of variants of concern in late 2020 marked a shift in the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The Delta variant: What it is, where it came from, why it’s different and whether COVID-19 vaccines can prevent it.
A security guard leads reporters away from the Wuhan Institute of Virology after a WHO team arrived for a field visit in Wuhan, Hubei province of China, Feb. 3, 2021. The team came to no conclusions about the origins of the pandemic.
(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Gain-of-function studies make a natural virus more dangerous or transmissible to humans. Could the Wuhan Institute of Virology be the source of SARS-CoV-2?
Scientists have been trying to pinpoint the exact causes of the declines in some wild Pacific salmon populations for decades.
(Amy Romer)
The US lags in testing coronavirus samples from COVID-19 patients, which can help track the spread of the virus and the emergence of new variants. But labs are ramping up this crucial surveillance.
Efforts are underway to curb the outbreak.
CELLOU BINANI/AFP via Getty Images
The virus is always present in nature and when circumstances allow, it may jump from one species to another.
Medical technician Amira Doudou prepares samples at the University Hospital Institute for Infectious Diseases in Marseille, France, Jan. 13, 2021, to study the highly contagious COVID-19 variant.
(AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
Multiple COVID-19 variants are circulating around the world and becoming more common. These mutations can alter the ability of the virus to take hold and replicate within our cells.
Ten years ago, we feared Tasmanian devils would be wiped out by a bizarre infectious facial cancer transmitted by biting. But new genetic analysis shows they are evolving to live with the disease.
Storm petrels are one of the world’s most abundant seabirds, but their numbers have plummeted in some places.
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Seabird colonies are thought to be in rapid decline. But knowing just how severe the loss is can be a challenge, so some scientists are turning to bird poop for the answer.
Mink can be readily infected with SARS-CoV-2 and then pass the virus to humans.
(Shutterstock)
In the disturbing scenario of human-to-mink-to-human COVID-19 transmission, the virus may mutate in mink prior to re-infecting people. That possibility makes vaccine design even more crucial.
Direct-to-consumer genetic testing can help scientific researchers.
Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock
Scientists who work in local companies have acquired local knowledge and are therefore able to work with South Africa’s unique genetic diversity better than anyone else.
New DNA analysis revealed that Calvin Hoover killed Christine Jessop in 1984. Toronto Police Chief James Ramer sits next to a screen displaying photos of Calvin Hoover during a news conference on Oct. 15, 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Christine Jessop was murdered in 1984 and, 36 years later, DNA evidence finally identified her killer. But the police investigation’s use of genetic genealogical databases raised questions about privacy.
Pulverized ancient bone can provide DNA to scientists for analysis.
Xin Xu Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
Jumbo squids live in extreme environments. Tiny genetic modifications allow them to move back and forth from the surface of the ocean to its bottom, killing and eating everything in their path.
David Welch, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Genetic analysis of virus samples from New Zealand’s latest COVID-19 cases is now much swifter. It’s providing key information, but hasn’t yet answered the question of where this second wave started.