Genetics

  1. Genetics

    Scientists Say: Genetic Engineering

    Genetic engineering involves adding, changing or removing certain pieces of DNA from a living thing to give it desired traits.

    By Maria Temming
  2. Health & Medicine

    A new type of immune cell may cause lifelong allergies

    These special memory cells were present in people with allergies and absent in those without.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  3. Animals

    Paw-print DNA lets scientists track out-of-sight polar bears

    This environmental DNA can aid in conserving species that are hard or dangerous to observe.

    By Cherilyn Chin
  4. Animals

    Here’s how kingfishers avoid concussions during high-speed dives

    Understanding the genetic adaptations that protect the birds’ brains as they dive might one day offer clues to protecting human brains.

    By Claudia López Lloreda
  5. Health & Medicine

    RNA work that led to COVID-19 vaccines wins 2023 Nobel in medicine

    Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman overcame hurdles to using mRNA for medicine. This led to COVID vaccines — and maybe, one day, some for other infections.

    By Tina Hesman Saey, Meghan Rosen and Erin Garcia de Jesús
  6. Genetics

    Experiment: Are fingerprint patterns inherited?

    Let’s investigate whether fingerprint patterns are created randomly or whether they are influenced by genetics.

    By Science Buddies
  7. Health & Medicine

    Toddler now thrives after prenatal treatment for a genetic disease

    Ayla was treated before birth for the rare, life-threatening Pompe disease. Now a thriving 16-month-old toddler, her treatments will still need to continue.

    By Erin Garcia de Jesús
  8. Chemistry

    Forensic scientists are gaining an edge on crime

    Advances in forensic science are helping to recover invisible fingerprints and identify missing people from bits of tissue or bone.

    By Alison Pearce Stevens
  9. Genetics

    For some kids, their rock-star hair comes naturally

    A variant of a gene involved in hair-shaft formation was linked to most of the uncombable-hair-syndrome cases analyzed in a recent study.

    By Meghan Rosen
  10. Genetics

    Examining Neandertal and Denisovan DNA wins a 2022 Nobel Prize

    Svante Pääbo figured out how to examine the genetic material from these hominid ‘cousins’ of modern humans.

    By Tina Hesman Saey and Aimee Cunningham
  11. Animals

    Living mysteries: This critter has 38 times more DNA than you do

    The genomes of salamanders are bloated with genetic “parasites.” That extra DNA slows down their lives and strands them in perpetual childhood.

    By Douglas Fox
  12. Animals

    Rats can chronicle human history

    Rats have lived alongside people for thousands of years. Now, scientists can study the rats and their leavings to learn more about ourselves.

    By Bethany Brookshire