genomes

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and their collaborators have conducted a groundbreaking study targeting 'jumping genes' in the entire genomes of the human large intestine. Published in Nature on May 18 2023,…

Why is it that certain mammals have an exceptional sense of smell, some hibernate, and yet others, including humans, are predisposed to disease? A major international research project, jointly led by Uppsala University, Sweden and the Broad…

To learn more about humans, a large international team of scientists spent years tracking down some of the strangest creatures on Earth. They camped out on an Arctic ice floe to collect DNA from the one-tusked narwhal, netted a tiny…

To develop treatments that may one day entirely rid the body of HIV infection, scientists have long sought to identify all of the places that the virus can hide its genetic code. Now, in a study using blood samples from men and women with…

Cells zealously protect the integrity of their genomes, because damage can lead to cancer or cell death. The genome -- a cell's complete set of DNA -- is most vulnerable while it is being duplicated before a cell divides. Cancer cells…

The red junglefowl -- the wild ancestor of the chicken -- is losing its genetic diversity by interbreeding with domesticated birds, according to a new study led by Frank Rheindt of the National University of Singapore published January 19…

Scientists have shown that in one in every 4,000 births, some of the genetic code from our mitochondria -- the 'batteries' that power our cells -- inserts itself into our DNA, revealing a surprising new insight into how humans evolve. In a…

A new study by researchers in The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT provides evidence from both mouse models and postmortem human tissue of a direct link between two problems that emerge in Alzheimer's disease: a buildup of…

The genomes of many human populations show evidence of founder events, which occur when a small number of initial members start a new population, and can lead to low genetic diversity as well as increase the risk of certain genetic diseases…

The Black Death, the biggest pandemic of our history, was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and lasted in Europe between the years 1346 and 1353. Despite the pandemic's immense demographic and societal impacts, its origins have long…