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Articles sur DNA

Affichage de 401 à 420 de 462 articles

Genetics can explain a black or white cat in a litter, but what about a stripey cat? Enter epigenetics. Taylor Bennett

Explainer: what is epigenetics?

The word epigenetics means things imposed “on top of genetics”. But what sort of things? Imagine a white mouse breeds with a black mouse – say you get three white babies and three black babies. That’s…
Children are getting their (mis)information about some scientific concepts from mass media sources. Genetics image from www.shutterstock.com

‘You catch criminals with DNA’: What kids know (and don’t know) about genetics

“DNA is your blood in you, we can use DNA as evidence if someone’s been stabbed. We can run tests in suspects.” (Girl, 12, central Queensland) “DNA has to do with blood types and fingerprints, it helps…
Allowing patents that capture categories of unique genomic DNA damages the principle of open access. Nestlé/Flickr

Ensure open access to genetic data to protect innovation

Public investment in the Human Genome Project was expected to deliver a global public good that would help generate scientific breakthroughs. But open access to our genetic blueprint is a precondition…
Colorized low-temperature electron micrograph of a cluster of E. coli bacteria. The individual bacterium are rectangular and brown. Microbe World/Flickr

Bacterial genomics offers new approaches to better health

Bacteria are single-celled microorganisms abundant in nature that can’t be seen with the naked eye. In fact, there are approximately five multiplied by 10³¹ bacteria on the earth, constituting 90% of its…
Personalised nutrition helps us understand the unique nutritional requirements of each individual. Cayusa/Flickr

Personalised nutrition unravels why you are what you eat

The father of western medicine Hippocrates famously said: “let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”, arguing disease was not a punishment from the gods, but the consequence of a poor diet. Today…
It makes sense to exercise caution when we’re fiddling with genes in food. Food Ethics Council

Securing the safety of genetic modification

Most genetically modified (GM) crops are based on moving DNA from one organism to another to introduce a new protein. Now a growing number of genetically modified crops are based on intentionally changing…
The genes are not genetic faults or causes of cancer, but markers which each predict small increments in cancer risk. Image from shutterstock.com

Closing in on genetic variants for breast, ovarian and prostate cancer

A team of international researchers, including a number of Australian scientists, have identified 74 new areas of the genome that can increase a person’s risk of developing breast, prostate and ovarian…
The use of the term “junk DNA” has always been controversial. Nick Kidd

Not dead yet: junk DNA is back

A controversy at last: most of our DNA is junk, no it isn’t, yes it is. Actually, I think it is – up to 90% really is junk. Last year The Conversation published an article with an exciting headline: Human…
The Falkland Islands wolf was marooned for thousands of years before going extinct. Michael Rothman for Ace Coinage, Inc

History mystery solved: the origins of the Falkland Islands wolf

A long-standing natural history mystery has been solved, as my colleagues and I explain today in the journal Nature Communications. The Falkland Islands wolf, or warrah, may have been the world’s loneliest…
The skeleton of Richard III was discovered beneath a car park in Leicester, and identified using the DNA of his descendants. EPA/HO

More than a hunch: identifying Richard III with DNA

In the past few days news has come to light of the confirmation that skeletal remains discovered in an excavated site of a Leicester car park are indeed that of the famous English king Richard III. But…
We’re all familiar with the double helix structure so vital to life, but DNA can take other forms. ctbroek/Flickr

Explainer: quadruple-helix DNA

DNA has been called many things: the king of molecules, the blueprint of life, and less excitingly but perhaps more accurately, the genetic code. DNA’s double helix, discovered in 1953 by James Watson…
You could fill this with coffee … or the equivalent of millions of DVDs. raindog/Flickr

DNA data storage: 100 million hours of HD video in every cup

Biological systems have been using DNA as an information storage molecule for billions of years. Vast amounts of data can thus be encoded within microscopic volumes, and we carry the proof of this concept…
The Indian Myna is an invasive species – but has its behaviour changed in Australia? Wikimedia Commons.

Besieged by destructive plants and animals? Blame epigenetics

Plants and animals that are seemingly harmless in their native habitats can become quite aggressive or even destructive in a new location. Think of the rats that have been a source of human and animal…

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