Genetics

  1. Health & Medicine

    Tomatoes’ tasteless green gene

    The tomatoes your great-grandparents ate probably tasted little like the ones you eat today. The fruit used to have more flavor. A lot more flavor. In fact, tomatoes “were once so flavorful that you could take one in your hand and eat it straight away just like we regularly eat apples or peaches,” according to plant scientist Alan Bennett. He belongs to a team of international scientists who now think they know one reason why the fruit has lost so much flavor. Although some unripe tomatoes have a dark green patch near the stem, farmers prefer that their unripe tomatoes are the same shade of green all over. The consistent coloring makes it easier for them to know when the fruit should be picked.

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  2. Computing

    DNA takes notes

    Engineers develop a computer memory system based on living cells.

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  3. Chemistry

    DNA, RNA…and XNA?

    Scientists create artificial genetic molecules that can carry information, evolve.

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  4. Genetics

    Sniffing out truffle scent

    Genetics, not geography, plays key role in the aroma of the delicacy.

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  5. Animals

    Costs of missing sleep

    Some fruit flies do fine without sleep, as long as they’ve got enough to eat.

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  6. Genetics

    Genes tell old story

    Ancient cells hold evidence of a massive die-off of Native Americans.

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  7. Animals

    Glow kitties

    Cats light up when an experiment is successful.

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  8. Genetics

    What’s on your genes?

    Tiny genetic switches create big differences.

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  9. Tech

    Crawling, nano-sized robots

    Built from DNA, these teeny bots move as directed.

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  10. Animals

    Afraid of its own fishy reflection

    A cichlid brain works differently when the fish attacks its mirror image.

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  11. Genetics

    Your inner Neandertal

    New study finds some DNA in modern humans was passed down from Neandertals.

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  12. Animals

    The nerve of one animal

    Cancer that's killing Tasmanian devils probably began in a single creature's nervous system.

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