Now Your Food Has Fake DNA In It
Like many novel technologies in this age of TED Talks and Silicon Valley triumphalism, synthetic biology—synbio for short—floats on a sea of hype. One of its founding scientists, Boston University…
genetics
Strongest Evidence Yet That Pygmies' Short Stature Is Genetic
It’s not another tall tale: Evolutionary biologists have developed a new understanding of the genetic basis of short stature in humans. Also known as the pygmy phenotype, a study published…
Spread of Genes Implicated in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Most people gradually recover from trauma, but a small fraction of individuals develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) — prompting scientists to look for the biological underpinnings of this extreme response…
Can A New Species of Frog Have A Doppelganger? Genetics Say Yes
Recently, Malaysian herpetologist Juliana Senawi puzzled over an unfamiliar orange-striped, yellow-speckled frog she’d live-caught in swampland on the Malay Peninsula. She showed the frog to Chan Kin Onn, a fellow…
EPIGENomics and Health Care Policy: Challenges and Opportunities
ISG Associate Professor, Hannah Landecker, will be speaking at – EPIGENomics and Health Policy: Challenges and Opportunities December 1-3, 2014 IEO, via Adamello 16, Milan, Italy INTRODUCTION The rise of epigenomics…
'Killer sperm' Prevents Mating Between Worm Species
The classic definition of a biological species is the ability to breed within its group, and the inability to breed outside it. For instance, breeding a horse and a donkey…