DNA

In these two two-cell mouse embryos, the surface of the embryos is outlined in orange, the DNA in the nucleus is indicated in blue and the activity of the LINE-1 gene is indicated via bright red spots.

Some DNA Dismissed As 'Junk' Is Crucial To Embryo Development

4:34pm June 21, 2018

by Richard Harris

Formerly considered useless, or maybe a parasite, the stretch of DNA known as LINE-1 actually plays "a key role" in creating an embryo and embryonic stem cells, research shows.

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Elation is an Angus bull that recently sold for $800,000. His co-owner, Brian Bell, sells Elation's semen for $50 a sample, about double the going rate.

How Prized Bull Semen And DNA Testing Are Reshaping America's Beef Herd

11:32am May 08, 2018

by Kristofor Husted

Cattle ranchers know that making the best steak starts with the genetic makeup of the herd. Now those genetics have taken a historic leap thanks to new, predictive DNA technology.

Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, who authorities suspect is the so-called Golden State Killer responsible for at least a dozen murders is arraigned in Sacramento, Calif., on Friday.

In Hunt For Golden State Killer, Investigators Uploaded His DNA To Genealogy Site

7:31pm April 27, 2018

by Laurel Wamsley

After failing to find a match within criminal databases, law enforcement uploaded the killer's DNA profile to a no-frills website used to trace ancestry. The tactic has spurred privacy concerns.

Joseph James DeAngelo, a suspect in a series of killings in California, was arrested Tuesday.

National

'Golden State Killer,' Suspected Of Terrorizing California For Years, Arrested

6:13pm April 25, 2018

by Amy Held

Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, was taken into custody at his home outside Sacramento, not far from where officials say a decade-long crime spree of dozens of rapes and murders began in the 1970s.

Colored transmission electron micrograph of a section through an Escherichia coli bacterium. This rod-shaped bacterium moves via its hair-like flagellae (yellow).

Biologists Trace Genetic Roots Of Evolution, One Cell At A Time

2:29pm March 15, 2018

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

E.coli bacteria, each cell trapped in a tiny tube, are giving researchers the chance to study the pace and effects of single genetic mutations. Most mutations, the scientists find, aren't harmful.

At Davos, Yuval Harari suggests that we are in our third grand revolution — the control of data.

Science

Biometric Data And The Rise Of Digital Dictatorship

1:17pm February 28, 2018

by Marcelo Gleiser

As historian and author Yuval Harari suggests, market forces and investor greed will keep moving the data revolution forward. But there are balancing forces to this onslaught, says Marcelo Gleiser.

What scientists believe to be our oldest ancestor, the single-celled organism named LUCA, likely lived in extreme conditions where magma met water — in a setting similar to this one from Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Science

The Microbial Eve: Our Oldest Ancestors Were Single-Celled Organisms

3:58pm January 31, 2018

by Marcelo Gleiser

Consider this: Evidence points to a microbial Eve as our first ancestor — a tough, underwater organism withstanding extremes that became every other creature to ever live, says Marcelo Gleiser.

A paper in nature shows that fathers pass down mutations to their babies at a higher rate than mothers, says guest commentator Robert Martin.

Why Males Are Biology's Riskier Sex

11:46am January 30, 2018

by Robert D. Martin

New data have confirmed major differences in mutation rates between the sexes — showing that children inherit more mutations from their dads than from their moms, says guest commentator Robert Martin.

There's an explosion of interest in personalized diet approaches and at-home test kits are popping up everywhere.

Personalized Diets: Can Your Genes Really Tell You What To Eat?

9:56am January 22, 2018

by Allison Aubrey

There's an explosion of interest in personalized diet approaches and at-home test kits are popping up everywhere. Part of the approach includes analyzing your DNA, but genes can only tell us so much.

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Darwin sits in front of Shrewsbury Library in England, which was formerly a school he attended.

Science

Altering A Species: Darwin's Shopping List

5:10pm January 15, 2018

by Jimena Canales

Few scientific discoveries have caused as much excitement as that of editing our genes; yet we owe some of the most stunning wonders around us to old-fashioned breeding practices, says Jimena Canales.