With the help of directed evolution, scientists inch closer to developing viral vectors that can cross the human blood-brain barrier to deliver gene therapy.

Thirty years out from the start of the Human Genome Project, researchers have finally finished sequencing the full 3 billion bases of a person’s genetic code. But even a complete reference genome has its shortcomings.

Metagenomic sequencing can help detect unknown pathogens, but its widespread use faces challenges.

Tumors contain thousands of genetic changes, but only a few are actually cancer-causing. A quicker way to identify these driver mutations could lead to more targeted cancer treatments.

Bloody Isle When genetics and history compete, who wins?By Newamul Khan ARTICLE EXTRASSPRING BOOKSStem Cells on ShelvesAn Awkward SymbiosisThe Death of Faith?High in the TreesThe Enchantment of EnhancementBooks about BodiesNew Lab ManualsIn Brief Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland, By Bryan Sykes, 320

It may be humbling to think that humans have much in common with pufferfish, but at the genome level, the two are practically kissing cousins. "In terms of gene complement, we are at least 90% similar—probably higher. There are big differences in gene expression levels and alternate transcripts, but if you're talking about diversity, number and types of proteins, then it's pretty difficult to tell us apart," says Greg Elgar, group leader of the Fugu genome project at the Medical Research C

LIGHTING THEIR LOCATIONS:© 2002 Cold Spring Harbor PressImmunolocalization of epitope-tagged proteins. (A-E) represent cells containing HAT-tagged proteins stained with the DNA dye, DAPI, and a monoclonal antibody against hemagluttinin, α-HA. At right the images are merged. (F-J) indicates cells carrying V5 tagged proteins. The bar equals 2 μm.Aliens sifting through the remains of a lost human civilization might puzzle over the function of a ladle. But if found in a room associate

The Rockefeller University geneticist is tracing the full lifespan of individual cells to better understand how and why humans age.

The scientific community bid farewell to researchers who furthered the fields of molecular biology, virology, sleep science, and immunology, among others.