How a Newton’s cradle for photons could reveal the secrets of photosynthesis
The device will help researchers understand the way energy transfer occurs in living systems
View ArticleStanford will investigate its role in the Chinese CRISPR baby debacle
The university wants to learn what ties its faculty members had to He Jiankui, the researcher who created gene-edited humans.
View ArticleMore than 26 million people have taken an at-home ancestry test
The genetic genie is out of the bottle. And it’s not going back.
View ArticleA cell-killing strategy to slow aging passed its first test this year
Are tired-out cells what make people old? A new generation of drugs is designed to wipe them out.
View ArticleWe should gene-sequence cave paintings to find out more about who made them
Standard archeological techniques can’t determine whether the prehistoric artists were hunter-gatherers or farmers. Analyzing the paintings’ surfaces with techniques from biology offers much more...
View ArticleWhat if you could diagnose diseases with a tampon?
Women’s health care is often treated as all about reproduction. Some “femtech” startups are exploring the innovations that get overlooked as a result.
View ArticleIn China, some parents seek an edge with genetic testing for tots
Questionable DNA “talent” tests find a market in up-and-coming Shenzhen.
View ArticleChina’s CRISPR twins might have had their brains inadvertently enhanced
New research suggests that a controversial gene-editing experiment to make children resistant to HIV may also have enhanced their ability to learn and form memories.
View ArticleChina’s CRISPR twins: A time line of news
It’s been three months since news broke that twin girls had been genetically modified using CRISPR. There’s a lot to catch up on.
View ArticleLife probably can’t exist on quite as many planets as we once thought
The habitable zone around other stars has been defined as the region where liquid water can exist on a planet’s surface, but it takes more than water to support complex life. A team of astronomers has...
View ArticleDoctors plan to test a gene therapy that could prevent Alzheimer’s disease
A novel dementia treatment will flood people’s brains with a low-risk version of a key gene.
View ArticleWristwatch heart monitors might save your life—and change medicine, too
Making complex heart tests available at the push of a button has far-reaching consequences.
View ArticleA simple blood test to predict premature births could save babies’ lives
Complications from preterm birth are the leading cause of death worldwide in children under five.
View ArticleThe secret to a new drug could be hiding in your genes
Companies are searching gene databases for people whose DNA says they should be very sick, but who aren’t.
View ArticleThere’s probably another planet in our solar system
Laying out two decades of evidence for the mysterious “Planet 9,” a team of astronomers predicts that if it exists, it’s likely to be discovered within the decade.
View Article23andMe thinks polygenic risk scores are ready for the masses, but experts...
A new genetic test that estimates your risk for diabetes is probably less useful than standing on a scale.
View ArticleCRISPR experts are calling for a global moratorium on heritable gene editing
Some of the biggest names in gene editing want to stop anyone from playing around with cells that pass on changes to the next generation.
View ArticleGenome engineers made more than 13,000 CRISPR edits in a single cell
A team at George Church’s Harvard lab wants to redesign species with large-scale DNA changes.
View ArticleChinese scientists have put human brain genes in monkeys—and yes, they may be...
A quest to understand how human intelligence evolved raises some ethical questions.
View ArticleThe search for the kryptonite that can stop CRISPR
Powerful gene-editing tools have the potential to heal—or to harm. Now there’s a race to develop the antidote to the next bioweapon.
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