For millennia, evolution has intrigued many great thinkers, prompting questions about how new traits emerge as species adapt over time. Then, attention shifted to natural selection and the inheritance ...

The natural RNAi mechanism can be directed by either short interfering RNA (siRNA) or microRNA (miRNA). 1 There are four key steps in the RNAi pathway. When miRNA acts as the guide for RNAi, only a ...

An affordable new BRCA gene test has hit the market, but who should take it? — -- A new genetic testing kit that hits the market today is the most affordable, and arguably one of the simplest, ...

Jessica D. Ayers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...

Seven years ago, I took a bet from one of the most controversial figures in the scientific world. Charles Murray, the political scientist who—along with the late psychologist Richard Herrnstein—wrote ...

It depends on what your goal is. By Dana G. Smith When Dr. Nir Barzilai met the 100-year-old Helen Reichert, she was smoking a cigarette. Dr. Barzilai, the director of the Institute for Aging Research ...

Human gene maps contain major blind spots because they were built largely from the DNA sequences of people with European ...

All the cells in an organism have the exact same genetic sequence. What differs across cell types is their epigenetics—meticulously placed chemical tags that influence which genes are expressed in ...

Hosts David and Gina explore how scientists over the centuries unlocked the ability to edit our genes ...

When a supercentenarian, someone who is older than 110 years old, is interviewed, they are inevitably asked to share their tips for longevity. But what if their secret could be studied scientifically?