Changes in our environment can reveal previously hidden mutations in our DNA with potentially good and bad consequences.
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Articles on Genetic mutation
Displaying 1 - 20 of 36 articles
Natural selection isn't the only factor deciding human evolution.
Once genetic lesions for diseases such as cystic fibrosis and haemophilia were identified, the idea of replacing or correcting defective genes grew into what we now call "gene therapy".
Why was one gene mutation that affects hair, teeth, sweat glands and breasts ubiquitous among ice age Arctic people? New research points to the advantage it provided for ancestors of Native Americans.
More and more evidence shows evolution isn't as random as often thought.
In 2030, there is a boom in precision medicine, where diseases – from cancer to dementia – are defined and targeted more specifically with a focus on their molecular makeup.
Comparing genomes of more than 200,000 people, researchers identified genetic variants that are less common in older people, suggesting natural selection continues to weed out disadvantageous traits.
Some animals seem to have missing genes – but the reality is a lot more intriguing.
Converting a DNA sequence into an audio could help us learn something useful about it, like where mutations occur.
A new research paper reports dangerous side effects in CRISPR-edited mice. Some scientists are pushing back, placing blame for the unwanted mutations on the experiment, not the technique.
How do scientists figure out when evolutionary events – like species splitting away from a common ancestor – happened? It turns out our DNA is a kind of molecular clock, keeping time via genetic changes.
A cryptic part of DNA helps keep a species' mutations in check until they become useful.
Scientists have discovered that a single gene may reveal a weakness in the development of schizophrenia that could help doctors prevent the condition.
What produces the differences between men and women? Are they trivial or profound? Are they genetic or environmental, or both? And are men really closer genetically to chimpanzees than to women?
What if you could take a simple test to reveal your individual risk of developing a range of cancers and hundreds of other diseases?
Gene therapy is allowing us to switch on natural beneficial mutations to counteract the effects of negative mutations in diseases such as sickle cell anaemia.
Jolie Pitt has announced more surgery, this time to mitigate her risk of developing ovarian cancer. But this should ideally not have the same "Jolie effect" as her last operation.
When a family member dies from a disease caused by a genetic mutation, doctors have to decide whether to share the deceased person's test results with the rest of the family.
Recent cases in Australia and the United States and a new case in Canada show how controversial the subject of gene patents is. But technological advances and the cost of patenting may soon mean gene patents…
What causes cancer? This deceptively simple question has a devilishly complex answer. So when US researchers proposed a relatively simple mathematical formula to explain a long-standing conundrum in cancer…
Top contributors
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Merlin Crossley is a Friend of The Conversation.Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic and Professor of Molecular Biology, UNSW
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Medical Oncologist and Laboratory Head, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
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Associate professor, UNSW
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Professor of Genomics, University of Melbourne
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Professor of Law & Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Medicine Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne
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Adjunct Fellow, School of Law & School of Medicine, Western Sydney University
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Research Assistant Professor in Neuroscience, University of Western Australia
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Bennett Chair of Autism, Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia
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Professor of Law, University of Tasmania
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PhD Candidate & Research Fellow, University of Tasmania
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Chair Precision Medicine, Monash University
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Senior Research Fellow, Pathology, University of Melbourne
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Honorary Fellow, Department of Pathology, University of Melbourne
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Institute Manager, Órama - Institute for Mental Health and Wellbeing, Flinders University
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Jenny Graves is a Friend of The Conversation.
Distinguished Professor of Genetics and Vice Chancellor's Fellow, La Trobe University
