genetics & genomics, genetics

Researchers find that evolution can operate on extraordinarily fast timescales.

Jumping genes in bdelloid rotifers are tamped down by DNA methylation performed by an enzyme pilfered from bacteria roughly 60 million years ago, a study finds.

A new link between inflammation and rampant chromosomal abnormalities reveals novel strategies to treat diverse malignancies.

When micronuclei rupture, chromosomes break, recombine, and form circles, causing inflammation and promoting carcinogenic growth.

Caskey’s contributions to the field were instrumental to modern genetics.

Whole genome sequences reveal multiple domestications of this agriculturally important tree and may hold the secrets to producing the sweet fruit year round.

Comparing the genomes of modern pathogens with those of cryopreserved strains from several decades ago shed light on the evolution of coffee wilt disease outbreaks in Africa.

Studies The Scientist covered this year illustrate the expanding importance of genetic and genomic research in all aspects of life science, from ecology to medicine.

Hydra vulgaris constantly replenish the cells in their heads and grow new ones to reproduce asexually. But gene expression analyses reveal that regenerating a head after an injury is a very different process.

A massive screen of bacterial and archaeal genomes revealed five previously unknown instances where an organism uses an alternate code to translate genetic blueprints into proteins.

Certain stretches of DNA that regulate gene expression have evolved differently from protein-coding genes.

A large genome-wide association study in East Asians uncovers novel genetic links to depression, calling attention to the consequences of underrepresentation of non-European groups in genetic research data.

A new study links a variant of the apolipoprotein E gene called APOE ε4 to better memory in older age, even in the presence of amyloid plaques—a possible explanation for the variant’s persistence despite its association with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers found more than 800 sites in the genome where the twins bore the same chemical tags.

The methodology involves modifying histones and displaying them on the cell surface for analysis.

By harnessing a unique property of yeast, scientists can synthesize histones and the enzymes that modify these proteins, which spool DNA and influence gene expression.

Researchers identify a role for PIEZO1 in tendon adaptation, and show that people with certain versions of the Piezo1 gene tend to be better jumpers.

RNA-DNA complexes that were modified with cholesterol made it into the brains of rats and mice, where they knocked down target genes.

Researchers found the relatively high proportion of DNA from a hominin cousin—nearly 5 percent—when they scanned more than 1,000 genomes from 118 distinct ethnic groups.