genetics

Genetically, at least, not that much has changed in the billion years since you two last shared a relative. Roughly half the 500 genes yeast need for life are interchangeable with the human versions.

Genes linked to inflammation are more active in winter, a study hints. That might partly explain why some diseases, including Type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, are more likely to start then.

By editing the genes in embryos in the lab, Chinese scientists showed that it's possible to change hereditary traits that cause a blood disorder. But the work also created unintended mutations.

Doctors long ago noticed that, beyond the usual influences of diet and smoking, short people seem to get heart disease more often than tall people. But why?

Scientists have found some human DNA that, when added to mice, makes their brains bigger. But as DNA research into human brains goes forward, are there ethical lines we shouldn't cross?

Scientists in England are ready to do something that's never been done before — combine the DNA of two women and one man to create embryos that don't carry hereditary mitochondrial disorders.

Jennifer Doudna used to worry that her science wasn't doing anything important. Then some basic research led her team to a discovery that could one day be crucial in healing some genetic diseases.