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Genetics

New Research

How Many Genes Does a Body Need?

Only about 15 percent of the human genome or 3,230 genes—that we know of

Giant pumpkins wait in line for their weigh-in at a 2014 competition in Kasterlee, Belgium.

The Secret to Growing the World’s Largest Pumpkin

From special seeds to helpful fungi, creating a monster takes more than just sunlight and soil

Archeologists working at the Upward Sun River site in Alaska, where they found the 11,500-year-old remains of two infants

New Research

Ice Age Babies Buried in Alaska Reveals Early Genetic Diversity in North America

The infants’ DNA shows that humans may have stayed near the Bering Strait for thousands of years before moving farther south

New Research

Genetically Edited Hercules Dogs Can Pack on Extra Muscles

Scientists use a natural mutation that produces extra muscle to tweak dogs genes

This Bronze Age skull is from the Yamnaya culture, which later developed into the Afanasievo culture of Central Asia, one of the peoples that carried early strains of plague.

New Research

Plague Was Infecting Humans 3,300 Years Earlier Than Thought

DNA from Bronze Age victims helped pinpoint mutations that allowed the disease to go from localized illness to deadly pandemic

The Rise of DIY Genetic Testing

Some people are skipping the doctor’s office and using the internet to order and interpret their own DNA tests

New Research

This Gene Might Be Why Elephants Don’t Get Cancer

Their large bodies and many cells mean more elephants should be dying of cancer, scientists are trying to figure out why not

Harvesting a cocoa tree

Cool Finds

Who Will Save the World’s Chocolate?

As climate change threatens cocoa crops, rival food companies are banding together

A view from Mota Cave in Ethiopia, where archaeologists found the remains of a 4,500-year-old human.

New Research

Back to Africa: Ancient Human Genome Reveals Widespread Eurasian Mix

Genes from a 4,500-year-old skeleton from Ethiopia show how migrations shaped modern populations

New Research

Another Step Closer to Male Birth Control Pills

A protein might lead to an oral contraceptive for men

Baby tree saplings, cloned from giant redwoods in California, chill out in the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive's propagation area.

Age of Humans

The Race to Save the World’s Great Trees By Cloning Them

A nonprofit dedicated to preserving old, iconic trees is cloning them in hopes of preserving them for the future

The flat-tail horned lizard's desert habitats in the American West are changing rapidly, thanks to us humans.

Age of Humans

Even Desert Lizards Are Feeling the Heat Due to Climate Change

But Smithsonian scientists are probing the flat-tail horned lizard’s DNA to save the rare species

New Research

Scientists Can Now Sequence a Human’s Genome in 26 Hours

New tools cut sequencing time almost in half

Cool Finds

For $1,600 You Can Own a Genetically Altered Micropig

From lab animal to potential pet

This pig could be growing a heart or lungs for a transplant.

The Innovative Spirit

The Future of Animal-to-Human Organ Transplants

Could a genetically engineered pig heart one day function in a person?

A juvenile crocodile in a Cape York peninsula river, the region where researchers recently looked for wild rice species

Cool Finds

To Find New Rice Species, Scientists Head to Remote Tropical Swamps

A remote peninsula in northern Australia beckons a rice research expedition

Estela de Carlotto, president of Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo. de Carlotto’s grandson was recovered 36 years after he was abducted and adopted by another family.

Trending Today

Argentinian Grandmothers Are Using DNA to Track Down Stolen Children

A national genetic bank and novel identification techniques have helped identify over 100 children abducted during Argentina’s “Dirty War”

Sure, it looks cute now, but a new study explores why babies influence their moms' DNA for years.

New Research

Baby’s Cells Can Manipulate Mom’s Body for Decades

An evolutionary approach may help scientists understand why mothers become genetic chimeras and how that affects their health

Trending Today

Some Brands Are Labeling Products “GMO-free” Even if They Don’t Have Genes

More companies are paying to label their food as non-GMO, whether they need it or not.

Yeast, a multipurpose microbe.

Innovative Spirit Health Care

A Genetically Modified Yeast Turns Sugar Into Painkillers

Stanford scientists have engineered a strain of yeast that can produce opiates on its own

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