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…
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Articles on DNA
Displaying 421 - 440 of 470 articles
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…
Genetic sequences previously considered as “junk DNA” can regulate cancer genes, research has revealed. Many cancers occur…
The more we look, the more we realise just how important intact ecosystems are for our own well-being - and it really doesn’t matter at which scale we are looking. When Alan Cooper, Director of the Australian…
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…
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…
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…
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…
A new study of DNA has found that Indian people may have come to Australia around 4000 years ago, an event possibly linked to the first appearance of the dingo. Australia was first populated around 40,000…
Synthetic DNA has been turned into a material that can flow like a liquid but retain its original shape. The “hydrogel…
Intelligence is our most complex characteristic. Some would even say it defines us, setting us apart from other primates. And now, a new study – published this week by Hennady P. Shulha and colleagues…
A genetic variant on chromosome X near the claudin-2 gene (CLDN2) predicts which men who are heavy drinkers are at a higher…
Illegal logging is a major contributor to tropical deforestation and forest degradation. Australia is currently considering legislation to prevent the importation of illegally logged wood. But if the legislation…
Transcription factor II B (TFIIB) is a protein that binds to DNA to initiate the production of new proteins. When DNA damage…
Moa birds disappeared from New Zealand following the arrival of human settlers in the 13th century, but their fossils now provide us with a valuable clues about long-term DNA survival and how DNA decays…
A small change in the DNA sequence can significantly influence body mass index. The genetic change, called a single nucleotide…
Biologists have discovered the mechanism by which a group of proteins, known as DEAD-Box proteins, unravel RNA (ribonucleic…
DNA previously written off as junk actually acts as a lever controlling genetic activity, leading to health or illness, reveals a massive new genetic mapping project. It’s been ten years since the human…
Imagine a future where doctors take a strand of your hair or a drop of your blood and tell you your DNA predicts a 78% risk of developing heart disease. On the plus side, it also predicts exactly which…
Changes to just three genetic “letters” among billions is said to have contributed to the evolution and development of mammalian…
Top contributors
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Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic Quality and Professor of Molecular Biology, UNSW Sydney
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Distinguished Professor, Charles Sturt University
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Research fellow, The University of Queensland
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Jenny Graves is a Friend of The Conversation.
Distinguished Professor of Genetics and Vice Chancellor's Fellow, La Trobe University
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Research fellow, The University of Queensland
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Professor of Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Washington
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Ethical, Legal & Social Adviser - Public Health Genomics, Monash University
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Head, Molecular Medicine Laboratory, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research)
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Professor of English, York University, Canada
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Assistant Professor in Biomedical Ethics, National University of Singapore
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Ph.D. Candidate in Chemical Biology, Harvard University
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Senior Lecturer in Population, Medical and Evolutionary Genomics, Lund University
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Deputy Director and ARC Future Fellow, Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, University of Adelaide
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Author and Honorary Fellow, School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science, University of Leeds
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Professor of Evolutionary Biology, Griffith University
