The DNA from children of Chernobyl survivors has been sequenced and does not show higher levels of mutations than other children. Continue reading Children of Chernobyl Survivors Don’t Show Excess DNA Damage from Disaster
by Aleks Procherafigures by Shreya Mantri The past year and a half have been a time of profound uncertainty. We all wish we could gaze into a COVID crystal ball and get answers to our burning questions. Some of us would want to know how long the pandemic will last. Others, however, especially those who have never received a positive result, would likely seek an … Continue reading It’s Not All about Microbes: Genetics and susceptibility to infections
Base repair editing may be the cure for a genetic mutation leading to childhood aging syndrome. Continue reading Gene Editing Discovery Could End Childhood Premature Aging Syndrome
How do you introduce yourself, scientifically? My name is Mia Miyagi, and I’m an evolutionary biologist, which means that I study how the process of evolution works and how that process has generated the incredible biodiversity that we have today. More specifically, I’m a theoretical population geneticist. Population genetics is how we think about evolution and variation across entire populations. In other words, how individuals … Continue reading What Does an Evolutionary Biologist Do?
Dinosaurs rose and fell, but one foot-long scaly creature — the tuatara — persisted. Recently, the first tuatara genome was sequenced, unlocking insights into the evolution of other reptiles, birds, dinosaurs, and even our own mammalian lineage. Continue reading Not Just Your Ordinary Lizard: The Unique Genome of the Tuatara
Researchers from John Hopkins University recently developed a newly improved gene editing tool that is extremely fast — it allows genes to be edited within just a few seconds! Continue reading New gene editing tool can edit genes within seconds
Humans are one of mammal’s top drinking champions; we even have better tolerance than elephants Continue reading Who would win a drinking competition, humans or elephants?
Current polio vaccines have been successful in nearly eradicating polio in the world. Unfortunately, there have been emerging cases of polio in recent years. To combat this, scientists have designed a new oral poliovirus vaccine that could result in a new and safer polio vaccine. Continue reading Redesigning the polio vaccine – Lessons from evolution
New research from Cedars-Sinai suggests that patients with young-onset Parkinson’s may have been born with the beginnings of the disorder. Continue reading People With Young-Onset Parkinson’s May Have Been Born With It
40 new species of fish have been found in Lake Mweru in East Africa. Breeding of related lineages may have allowed the cichlids to rapidly evolve to fill different ecological niches. Continue reading New Fish Species and Rapid Evolution Found in African Lake