A failed experiment led the researchers to question their assumptions and realize that, contrary to popular belief, chromosomes interact with and affect genetic expression.
DNA of the male-determining Y chromosome has been completely sequenced end-to-end, and it’s just as weird as we expected. Will we finally be able to understand how it works?
Addressing the increased risks of certain diseases among those with Down syndrome could help improve their quality of life.
Halfpoint Images/Moment via Getty Images
Joaquin Espinosa, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
People with Down syndrome have an extra chromosome 21. Understanding the effects of those triplicated genes could help improve the health of those with Down syndrome and other medical conditions.
Some animals appear to use a ‘parliament’ of genes to determine sex. But a closer look reveals these are the exception rather than the rule.
Telomeres (red) at the ends of chromosomes protect your DNA from damage.
Thomas Ried/NCI Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health via Flickr
The protective caps at the ends of chromosomes naturally shorten over time. Researchers found that direct damage can prematurely trigger senescence and contribute to age-related diseases like cancer.
Although the medical establishment is now recognizing that sex is not binary, society as a whole has been slow to embrace the concept.
Vera Livchak/Moment via Getty Images
Millions of people do not fit neatly into male or female sex designations at birth, and wrong identification can set them up for a lifetime of physical and mental harm.
The genome of the spiny-tailed monitor is divided up into 8 big macochromosomes and 10 tiny microchromosomes huddled in the middle.
Jason Dobry
Miscarriage occurs in 15% to 25% of diagnosed pregnancies, bringing heartache to millions of women, many of whom blame themselves. In most cases, however, miscarriage is due to random genetic errors.
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.
Asexual reproduction can — through cell division, or meiosis — take place without the need for sperm.
(Shutterstock)
Women aged over 35 are sometimes offered genetic testing of their IVF embryos to rule out abnormalities. But it’s expensive and doesn’t increase their chance of a baby. In fact, it could reduce it.
Male and female brains are different at every level. Science is continuing to uncover how these differences affect health and disease.
From shutterstock.com
Parkinson’s disease is twice as common in men than in women. A sex gene called SRY, found only in men, could go some way to explaining this – and might pave the way for potential treatments.
Caster Semenya is legally female, was from birth raised as female and identifies as a female.
Jon Connell on flickr
Athlete Caster Semenya will need to take hormone-lowering agents, or have surgery, if she wishes to continue her career in her chosen events. But the decision to ban her is flawed on many grounds.
Research shows that the Y chromosome may be able to protect itself from extinction in the short term. But what about in a future where we all reproduce artificially?
AML under the microscope.
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