dna

by Aparna Nathan figures by Abagail Burrus Superheroes aren’t the only ones with riveting origin stories. As humans, where did we come from? How did we populate six continents? For hundreds of years, archaeology has tried to provide the answers by…

CRISPR is a highly effective immune system that defends bacteria from viruses. It was recently shown that some viruses have evolved counter-defenses that protect their DNA with a nucleus-like structure.

A new study takes a crack at trying to predict someone's face using just their DNA.

Scientists at ETH Zurich recently developed a storage architecture using DNA, where they fused DNA into everyday objects in order to store data.

Genes delivered by a virus successfully mitigated the effects of age-related diseases, such as heart and kidney disease, in a recent mouse study. Following this success, a similar gene therapy treatment is in trial to prevent a certain form of heart…

Doctors at Boston Children's Hospital engineered a unique medicine to treat a young girl's disease: they reverse engineered a blocker from her DNA to inhibit the gene causing the disease.

by Layla Siraj figures by Rebecca Senft Imagine if you could tell, through some combination of your environment and your genetics, what illnesses you might develop. This could give you the ability to either prevent these illnesses before they even…

Shorter lifespan in worms is linked to changes in gene activity that in turn alter sugar metabolism. This highlights the importance of gene activity rather than DNA mutations as a driving force of aging.

by Catherine Weiner figures by Elayne Fivenson Every cell in our bodies is constantly on the edge of danger. Our DNA, the molecular blueprints that tell our cells how to function, brought us to life. But it is also just one error away from catastrophe.…

by Christopher Gerry Our DNA influences our height, eye color, affinity for sky diving and other extreme thrills, sleep habits, disease risk factors, and more. It’s no surprise, then, that scientists have found another job for our reliable genetic…