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.
- 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.
By Susan Milius - 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Genetics
Explainer: How CRISPR works
Scientists are using a tool called CRISPR to edit DNA in all types of cells.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.