Claire Guinat, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich; Etthel Windels, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, and Sarah Nadeau, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
After a nose swab tests positive for a virus or bacteria, scientists can use the sample’s genetic sequence to figure out where and when the pathogen emerged and how fast it’s changing.
Genetic analysis can reveal how hair gets its colour.
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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)
By merging genomics with classical epidemiology, researchers are able to predict new disease outbreaks based on which viral variants are on the rise.
A complete human genome, seen here in pairs of chromosomes, offers a wealth of information, but it is hard connect genetics to traits or disease.
HYanWong/Wikimedia Comons
The first full human genome was sequenced 20 years ago. Now, a project is underway to sequence 1 million genomes to better understand the complex relationship between genetics, diversity and disease.
Genetic ancestry tests may sound like a bit of fun, but in an era marked by increasing xenophobia, it’s important to be aware of the interplay between genetics and ideas of race.
Medical education needs to include understanding how genetic conditions can occur.
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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.
A detailed map of the koala genome is vital to understanding their susceptibility to disease, their genetic diversity, and how they may respond to new environmental pressures.
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.