HS-LS3-1

Ask questions to clarify relationships about the role of DNA and chromosomes in coding the instructions for characteristic traits passed from parents to offspring.

  1. Animals

    Why elephants and armadillos might easily get drunk

    Stories of drunken elephants may not be a myth. Differences in a gene for breaking down alcohol could explain how they get tipsy.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    Search speeds up for vaccine against the new coronavirus

    Scientists are investigating unusual ways to make drugs to prevent viral infections. One may even be able to treat already sick people.

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  3. Animals

    The many efforts to lick cat allergies

    Up to one in five people around the world may be allergic to cats. Science is coming to help their desire for kitty cuddles.

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  4. Genetics

    What we can — and can’t — learn from our pets’ DNA

    Your dog or cat’s DNA is an open book. DNA tests tell people about their pet’s breed and attempt to predict things about its behavior and health.

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  5. Genetics

    Explainer: How DNA testing works

    Lots of companies will now test DNA from people and their pets. How do these gene-sequencing techniques work? We explain.

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  6. Genetics

    Explainer: What are genes?

    Genes are DNA regions that tell cells how to build proteins. But we have many more proteins than genes. And much of our DNA controls when genes turn on and off.

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  7. Genetics

    Your DNA is an open book — but can’t yet be fully read

    There are many companies that offer to read your DNA. But be prepared: They cannot yet fulfill all those promises you read in their ads.

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  8. Genetics

    Explainer: Why scientists sometimes ‘knock out’ genes

    How do we learn what a particular molecule does in the body? To find out, scientists often 'knock out' the gene that makes it. Here’s how.

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  9. Genetics

    Explainer: How CRISPR works

    Scientists are using a tool called CRISPR to edit DNA in all types of cells.

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  10. Genetics

    DNA tells tale of how cats conquered the world

    Ancient DNA study suggests that domesticated cats spread across the ancient world in two waves.

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  11. Archaeology

    DNA from African mummies tie these folk to Middle Easterners

    Ancient DNA extracted from 90 Egyptian mummies reveals genetic links to Greece and the Middle East.

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  12. Science & Society

    Cool Jobs: New tools to solve crimes

    Future investigators may identify criminals by the microbes they leave behind or by using DNA-like evidence from strands of their hair.

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