Which 'letters' in the human genome are functionally important?
There are 3 billion letters in the human genome, and scientists have endlessly debated how many of them serve a functional purpose. There are those letters that encode genes, our…
Genomes
Environment, not genes, plays starring role in human immune variation, study finds
A study of twins conducted by Stanford University School of Medicine investigators shows that our environment, more than our heredity, plays the starring role in determining the state of our…
Genetic Study Reveals Surprising Ancestry of Many Americans
In the United States, almost no one can trace their ancestry back to just one place. And for many, the past may hold some surprises, according to a new study….
University of Toronto Cell Biologists Discover On-off Switch for Key Stem Cell Gene
Consider the relationship between an air traffic controller and a pilot. The pilot gets the passengers to their destination, but the air traffic controller decides when the plane can take…
Genes Tell Story of Birdsong and Human Speech
His office is filled with all sorts of bird books, but Duke neuroscientist Erich Jarvis didn’t become an expert on the avian family tree because of any particular interest in…
Genome sequencing for newborns: What do new parents think?
A study published this week in Genetics in Medicine is the first to explore new parents’ attitudes toward newborn genomic testing. The findings suggest that if newborn genomic testing becomes…