Traits such as eye color and height are passed from one generation to the next through the parents’ DNA, right? Not according to a new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who have shown that the DNA of bacteria that live in the mother’s body can pass a trait […]
Studies of human diseases such as cancer rely on the use of laboratory-grown cell cultures that have often been grown for decades. Now, new research indicates that these cell cultures may not be a reliable copy of real tissue; a finding that casts doubt on the interpretation of many past studies. The researchers, from the […]
DNA can already tell us the sex and ancestry of unknown individuals, but now an international team of researchers is beginning to connect genetics with facial features, degrees of femininity, and racial characteristics. Writing about their work in PLOS Genetics, the researchers detail how by jointly modeling sex, genomic ancestry, and genotype, the independent effects […]
Genes have been implicated in influencing everything from our sexual orientation to our risk of cancer, but a new paper published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interfaceasserts that the prominent emphasis currently given to the gene (a string of bases on the DNA molecule) in biology is based on a flawed interpretation of […]
The people who carry the high-risk SORL1 gene for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease show changes in their brains beginning in early childhood, according to researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). SORL1 is one of a number of genes linked to an increased risk of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. It carries the gene code […]
Previous studies have shown that meditation can trigger changes in the brain and body but the biological mechanism for these effects has remained a mystery. Now, in the journalPsychoneuroendocrinology, researchers are reporting the first evidence of specific molecular changes in the body following a period of meditation. The new work, by researchers in the U.S., […]
A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesappears to confirm a theory that the evolution of sharp vision in our ancestors was in part driven by the threat of snakes. Lynne Isbell, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Davis, originally put forward the theory in her […]
A DNA-sequencing study of anorexia nervosa sufferers has linked the eating disorder to variants in a gene that regulates cholesterol metabolism, suggesting that anorexia could be caused in part by a disruption in the normal processing of cholesterol. “These findings point in a direction that probably no one would have considered taking before,” said lead […]
Uncovering the individual genes that are directly influenced by testosterone and estrogen has allowed University of California, San Francisco scientists to manipulate individual behaviors in mice, such as sex drive, desire to pick fights, or willingness to spend extra time caring for their young. Explaining his work in the journal Cell, researcher Nirao Shah said […]
Some of the mysteries of human mating behavior could now be explained thanks to a new study that shows that certain genes become activated in fruit flies when they interact with the opposite sex. Understanding why and how these genes become activated within social contexts may also lead to insights into disorders such as autism, […]
