genetics

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Africans Have World's Greatest Genetic Diversity

Landmark study tracks modern humanity's origins to area in South Africa

(Newser) - The people of Africa have by far the world's most diverse genes, says a new study that sheds light on humanity's origins. Researchers—who traveled deep into remote areas of Africa to study more than a hundred populations—have pinpointed the origin of modern humans to an area near the...

Researchers Find Genetic Clue to Autism

(Newser) - A new batch of studies offers strong evidence that genetics plays a role in autism, the BBC reports. The studies in the journal Nature show that most victims have a variation in their DNA in the area that controls how brain cells interact, notes the LA Times. The results raise...

Decoding of Genome Fails to Yield Promised Cures

(Newser) - The promised age of unlocking the mystery of common diseases through DNA appears to have a hit a disappointing roadblock, the New York Times reports. As a result, companies that bill people to provide a personal genomic profile—and theoretically warn them of their risk to illness—are practicing nothing...

Bo's DNA Is No Secret to Scientists
Bo's DNA
Is No Secret
to Scientists
Apr 14, 2009 6:27 AM CDT

Bo's DNA Is No Secret to Scientists

Portuguese water dogs are top breed for genetic study

(Newser) - The Obama puppy may still be a bit of a mystery to a curious public, but his genetic code should be familiar to scientists: Portuguese water dogs are the top breed for genetic study, helping shed light on anything from how a dog’s size is determined to whether it’...

Do Cougars Really Spawn a Brighter Brood?
Do Cougars Really Spawn
a Brighter Brood?
GLOSSIES
Mar 16, 2009 11:22 AM CDT

Do Cougars Really Spawn a Brighter Brood?

(Newser) - "At last, science has produced the case for cougars," writes Emily Nussbaum in New York. A study analyzing more than 50,000 pregnant women found that older fathers produce progeny that score lower on concentration, memory, and learning tests. Older mothers, on the other hand, are associated with...

Amid Outcry, Doc Backs Off Designer Babies

Clinic will only screen embryos for disease, genetic disorders

(Newser) - After backlash from doctors, ethicists, and the public, a fertility clinic that had promised parents the option to choose certain traits for their new babies has changed its claim slightly. “We’re going to limit it to people with genetic diseases because we just cannot keep up with what’...

Birth Defects, IVF Linked, but How Linked?

Study finds increased genetic issues among test tube babies

(Newser) - Though the octuplets have pushed in vitro fertilization into the spotlight, there's still one question that's going largely unasked, reports the New York Times: "What is the chance that an IVF baby will have a birth defect?" Though a November study provided preliminary evidence—of 9,584 babies with...

New Research Raises Hopes for Viable Human Cloning

Study finds cloned embryos share genetic traits with natural cells

(Newser) - Human cloning, for medicine or even reproduction, may be more realistic than ever, Wired reports. Researchers found genetic characteristics similar to normal human embryos in cloned human embryos. The findings are a first step toward therapeutic cloning, in which embryonic stem cells that can replace failing tissues are grown from...

'Benjamin Button' Jellyfish Are Immortal

Can revert to younger form and reproduce

(Newser) - For some aging jellyfish, their best years may still be ahead: Faced with a threat, one species can essentially turn itself younger again, National Geographic reports. Turritopsis dohrnii reverts its cells to a “younger state,” says a researcher, and becomes a blob; from there, it develops into a...

Are Your Meds Working? Gene Tests Could Tell

Docs could eliminate half of drugs genetics prevent from working

(Newser) - The drugs you take may not actually be working. Experts say that, thanks to various genetic quirks, most drugs only work for about half the people who take them, meaning that much of the roughly $300 billion America spends on drugs each year is wasted. That’s why forward-looking doctors...

Go Ahead, Marry Your Cousin
Go Ahead, Marry Your Cousin
Dec 24, 2008 7:34 AM CST

Go Ahead, Marry Your Cousin

Relatively small chance of birth defects doesn't warrant the taboo, says new report

(Newser) - Laws against first cousins marrying are unnecessary and should be repealed, argue two scientists in a recent Public Science of Biology editorial. The risk of genetic defects in children born of cousin marriages is estimated at 2%-3% higher than in the general population, Wired reports, but no greater than that...

Is Your Kid a Sprinter or Footballer? Gene Test Knows

But experts cite scientific, ethical flaws

(Newser) - The answer to whether a kid would make a better linebacker or long-distance runner might lie in a simple genetic test—but many experts worry it could lead parents in the wrong direction, the New York Times reports. Based on a study that pointed to one gene’s role in...

Frozen Mice Cloned; This Guy Next?

Nuclear transfer technique revives genomes

(Newser) - Japanese scientists have succeeded in cloning mice frozen as long as 16 years, leading them to predict that the technique could be used to resurrect the likes of woolly mammoths. The researchers found that frozen brain cells worked best, though brain cells haven’t worked when cloning live mice, and...

DNA Breakthrough IDs Genes That Boost Lung Cancer Risk

Localized variation could guide fight against disease

(Newser) - In a discovery that applies to both smokers and nonsmokers, researchers have identified two genetic variations that may increase the risk of lung cancer by some 60%, Reuters reports. A huge sample—15,000-plus subjects in 18 countries—yielded results that helped researchers locate the variations on the fifth chromosome,...

10 Volunteers Go Public With Their DNA

Database will divulge what really makes a Harvard man, and other genetic secrets

(Newser) - Ten volunteers, including some rather well known ones, are exposing themselves online, the New York Times reports, by making their DNA available for anyone to peruse. The goal of the Personal Genome Project is to start making genetic information—along with personal traits called phenotypes—publicly available, a move whose...

Scare Easily? You May Be a Conservative

Study suggests political leanings could be hard-wired

(Newser) - People who startle more easily at loud noises or frightening images may be more prone to taking conservative political stances, reports the Washington Post. A new study suggests that there may be a biological basis for people's stands on contentious issues, with those who react less strongly to perceived threats...

Genome Project Is a Bust: Expert
Genome Project Is a Bust: Expert
Sep 16, 2008 11:40 AM CDT

Genome Project Is a Bust: Expert

$3B effort to pinpoint disease-causing genes too broad, Duke doc says

(Newser) - The idea behind mapping the human genome (and spending $3 billion to do so) was to uncover common gene variants that cause disease. But a Duke University geneticist says that natural selection has worked better than we thought, that there are no common variants but rather a multitude of rare...

Exercise Trumps Obesity Gene
 Exercise Trumps Obesity Gene 
Sep 9, 2008 8:40 AM CDT

Exercise Trumps Obesity Gene

Active lifestyle defeats fat-driving genes, study finds

(Newser) - Regular exercise and an active lifestyle can defeat the so-called obesity gene, which predisposes millions of people to be overweight, reports WebMD. Researchers found that people with variations of the gene were more likely to be overweight, but that the gene had no effect on those who included three to...

Romans Left Conquered Peoples More Prone to HIV

Those in areas ruled by empire less likely to have key gene, scientists find

(Newser) - The Roman conquest of Europe may explain why populations living in the former empire are more vulnerable to HIV, French researchers say. A genetic variant that protects against the AIDS-causing virus is less prevalent in former Roman colonies such as England, France, Greece, and Spain, though some argue that a...

Let Athletes Use Genetic Doping
Let Athletes Use Genetic Doping
OPINION
Aug 2, 2008 2:48 PM CDT

Let Athletes Use Genetic Doping

The only question should be one of safety, not fairness

(Newser) - Genetic therapy's potential to boost athletic performance has sports bodies worried, but fairness should not be an issue, the Economist opines. The luck of the genetic draw already gives some athletes an edge over their competitors, and the only question should be whether gene treatment is safe for the athletes....

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