"In practice, we don't usually get any further than a sort of reference face, such as 'a European male.' That's not much use to a forensic investigator."

DNA tests have been used in Israel to verify a person’s Jewishness. This brings a bigger question: what does it mean to be genetically Jewish? And can you prove religious identity scientifically?

In 2018, the Chinese scientist He Jiankui, Ph.D., altered the DNA of two human embryos, which were born as two healthy twin girls named Lulu and Nana. Against the violent ethical uproar in the medical community, He defended his experiment by claiming that the genetic changes he made were benign — they were meant to promote HIV resistance — but research published Monday in Nature Medicine has revealed that he may have spoken too soon.

Scientists have found that dozens of genes similar across different organism are unique to humans, and this could hold the key to the evolution of species. Researchers from the University of Toronto, Canada, have found out that these genes codes are transcription factors (TFs) and are controlling the gene activity. The study was published in the Nature Genetics Journal.

Survey finds that ‘normal’ human tissues are riddled with mutations.

The death of six of the 11 Rhesus monkeys has once again raised some familiar ethical questions. (Photo : Pixabay on Pexels) A month ago, scientists from the Chinese Kunming Institute of Zoology in China were successful in implanting MCPH1 or Microcephalin into the existing genes of 11 rhesus monkeys.

It may one day be possible to reverse abnormal embryonic brain development linked to Down syndrome (DS) and improve cognitive function by therapeutically targeting a key gene known as OLIG2 prenatally, suggests newly published findings. The study published in Cell Stem Cell sought to understand the mechanisms underlying imbalances in excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission that may be responsible for cognitive defects in DS patients.

A Cornell researcher, who is a leader in developing a new type of gene editing CRISPR system, and colleagues have used the new method for the first time in human cells – a major advance in the field. The new system, called CRISPR-Cas3, can efficiently erase long stretches of DNA from a targeted site in the human genome, a capability not easily attainable in more traditional CRISPR-Cas9 systems. Though robust applications may be well in the future, the new system has the potential to seek out and erase such ectopic viruses as herpes simplex, Epstein-Barr, and hepatitis B, each of which is a major threat to public health.

DNA testing is a booming global business enabled by the internet. Millions of people have sent samples of their saliva to commercial labs in hopes of learning something new about their personal health or heritage, primarily in the United States and Europe. In some places, commercial tests are banned.

While sifting through the bacterial genome of salmonella, Cornell food scientists discovered mcr-9, a new, stealthy jumping gene so diabolical and robust that it resists one of the world's few last-resort antibiotics. Doctors deploy the antibiotic colistin when all other infection-fighting options are exhausted. But resistance to colistin has emerged around the globe, threatening its efficacy.

Those with two copies of the delta32 allele in the CCR5 gene are 21 percent more likely to die by age 76, although it's not clear why.

With an analysis of DNA from nearly 300 fossilized remains, scientists are peering into human prehistory in the region.

A new Northwestern University study challenges prevailing understandings of genes as immutable features of biology that are fixed at conception. Previous research has shown that socioeconomic status (SES) is a powerful determinant of human health and disease, and social inequality is a ubiquitous stressor for human populations globally.

A popular DNA-testing company seems to be targeting true crime fans with a new pitch to let them share their genetic information with law enforcement so cops can catch violent criminals.

In 1864, our understanding of what it means to be human changed when Neanderthals were identified as a distinct species of hominin. At the time, it was immensely scandalous to presume Homo sapiens weren’t uniquely human; now it’s obvious that we are one of many. On Thursday, scientists report in Cell that it may be time to add another member to our list of ancient kin.

Ancestors of the people who built Stonehenge travelled west across the Mediterranean to get to Britain.

There are, undoubtedly, many factors that go into a person’s weight. A new report from the lab of Sekar Kathiresan, M.D., director of the Center for Genomic Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, documents a clear biologic basis for the predisposition of obesity. More specifically, that genetics play a role in how heavy a person gets.

Scientists extract proteins from a molar to uncover details of mysterious species’ origins

Last week, The Times published an article about the long-term results of the Gene Equality Project, the philanthropic effort to bring genetic cognitive enhancements to low-income communities. The results were largely disappointing: While most of the children born of the project have now graduated from a four-year college, few attended elite universities and even fewer have found jobs with good salaries or opportunities for advancement.

Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and... groundcherries? A little-known fruit about the size of a marble could become agriculture's next big berry crop.

Orchids were once considered the world’s most difficult and exotic flowers. So why can you buy one for $12.99 at Trader Joe’s?

Long ago, Neanderthals probably infected modern humans with viruses, perhaps even an ancient form of H.I.V. But our extinct relatives also gave us genetic defenses.

Scientists break the rules of reproduction, so what does it mean for the future of sex?

Newly sequenced Native genomes showcase a wealth of surprises, from previously unknown populations to unique high-altitude adaptations.

A Chinese researcher who claims to have created the first gene-edited babies, He Jiankui of the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUST), in Shenzhen, is now facing investigation over whether the experiment broke Chinese laws or regulations. On Sunday, MIT Technology Review was first to disclose a secretive project in China to produce children whose genomes had been modified to make them resistant to HIV.

He Jiankui claims he created twin girls who had been edited so they were resistant to HIV. Was that ethical? Or even legal?

AI is now at the forefront of DNA structural analysis thanks to new genomics research from a team at Stanford University, California. The paper, published in Nature Genetics reveals that deep learning AI is now capable of understanding and predicting pattern changes in DNA structures. These findings suggest that AI analysis of DNA structures now surpass human capabilities due to its speed and accuracy. This also means that genomics is likely the next field of research to benefit from developments in artificial intelligence.

One thing about our ancestors has become increasingly clear: early humans loved to get down, even with other species

Study confirms rare paternal mitochondrial transmission in three families.

In the latest issue of Genome Research, a group of North American scientists have, for the first time ever, published a full map of the cannabis genome. Among the myriad of interesting insights to glean from the chart is the finding that the genes that encode for THC and CBD production evolved thanks to bits of DNA introduced by viruses that infected the plant and successfully colonized its genome millions of years ago.

A long-dead Scandinavian woman has yielded bacterial DNA showing that she contracted the earliest known case of the plague in humans. DNA extracted from the woman’s teeth comes from a newly identified ancient strain of Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, the oldest ever found. The woman’s bones, which date from 5,040 to 4,867 years ago, were found nearly 20 years ago in a mass grave at an ancient farming site in Sweden.

The amount of close and comforting contact between infants and their caregivers can affect children at the molecular level, an effect detectable four years later, according to new research from the University of British Columbia and BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute.

​An exciting new study has demonstrated how a new kind of CRISPR technique can increase the expression of certain genes, instead of the more traditional approach of cutting or editing DNA. The method was tested in mice, targeting genes associated with hunger, and stopped the animals becoming obese.​

Death was the great leveller, but new life-extension technologies will widen the gap between the haves and havenots

Scientists have genetically engineered plants so they grow up to 40 per cent larger by tweaking the process they use to turn sunlight into food. Photosynthesis allows plants to harvest the sun’s energy and produces vital oxygen as a by-product, fuelling the rich array of life on Earth. However, this mechanism is hampered by an energy intensive process called photorespiration, which plants have evolved to work around an inefficiency present in regular photosynthesis.