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Articles on Genetics

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Heritability: how much do your genes impact your traits? Jenn Durfey

Explainer: what is heritability?

Schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder and autism have all had recent attention for being “genetically caused”. In scientific research being genetically caused usually corresponds to having a high…
How much do genes really influence exam results? Exam image from www.shutterstock.com

Genes have a big impact on exam results: UK research

New research claims genetics play an important role in the exam results of British teenagers, even more important than their home life or their teachers. The research, conducted by academics in the United…

Pollution and genes increase autism risk

Air pollutants may increase the risk of autism in people who have a genetic disposition to the condition. US researchers…
It’s hard to replace plain flour with self-raising flour in a cake, but luckily, our chromosomes are more like cars. juni xu

Explainer: what is gene therapy?

Every now and again you might read about gene therapy and efforts to correct serious genetic diseases. But I’m betting that very few readers have had gene therapy, nor have they ever met anyone who has…
Use-by dates: human chromosomes with their telomeres highlighted. NASA

Do Finnish men age faster when unemployed?

Men who are unemployed for more than two years show signs of faster ageing in their DNA, according to a study published today in the journal PLOS ONE. Researchers at the University of Oulu, Finland and…
Granny, why are your eyes so big? Gustave Dore

As they spread, folktales evolve like biological species

We all know the story: Once upon a time there was a young girl who took a walk through the woods to visit her grandmother, carrying a basket of goodies. When she arrived she found her granny ill in bed…
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…

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