genetics & genomics

In addition to isolating the first protein-coding gene from a eukaryote, Kedes furthered scientists’ understanding of actin genes and also laid the foundations for modern DNA databases such as GenBank.

The genomes of the children of people exposed to fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear accident appear to carry no trace of the incident.

A founder of the field of synthetic biology is selling data from his own DNA as a nonfungible token, or NFT, through Nebula Genomics, a personal genome company he cofounded.

A proof-of-concept study uses eDNA in the air to detect mammals, expanding the technique beyond aquatic sampling.

In the last decade, researchers have come to realize that tumors harbor bits of extrachromosomal DNA that can drive malignancy.

Meet some of the people featured in the April 2021 issue of The Scientist.

A mutant protein called Siglec-XII may promote carcinoma progression in humans, but inactivation of its gene seems to avoid the problem, according to a study.

Researchers are uncovering how circular bits of DNA found in some cancer cells can help tumors evolve and kill.

The largest study of its kind identifies single nucleotide polymorphisms with disparate effects on men’s and women’s susceptibility to conditions such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

A study of human populations around the world detects differing rates of horizontal gene transfer in the microbiome depending on what kind of society those people live in.

A physician and neurobiologist at the Rockefeller University who specialized in addiction research, Kreek was best known for her work on developing the treatment for heroin addiction.

Whiteflies overcome a toxin in plants they eat through the use of the plant’s own genetic protection, likely ferried from plant to insect millions of years ago by a virus.

Martha Nelson of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases talks about the need to balance data sharing and patient privacy concerns when tracking the spread of variants.

The physiological demands of that long neck get support from a gene involved in strengthening bones and blood vessels, researchers find after inserting the sequence in mice.

The embryos completed one-third of their total gestation outside of a uterus.

In mice, epigenetic marks made on histones during infancy influence depression-like behavior during adulthood. A drug that reverses the genomic tags appears to undo the damage.

Current reporting about the contribution of genetic variations to a person’s risk of disease is often incomplete and hard to interpret, according to the authors of a set of best practices for presenting such information.

Genetic analyses suggest that the virus came from a patient who survived the 2013–2016 West African outbreak.

Clinical trials were halted after the treatment’s vector that ferries in the healthy genetic sequence was identified in the genome of a patient’s cancer cells.