Octopus Genome Remains Elusive—But Full of Promise
As many mysteries as the octopus holds—its comprehensive camouflage, smart suckers, agile brain—its genome is surely holding many more (including how it can regenerate its arms—suckers, nerves and all).
Parasitic Trypanosomes Contain Nature’s Only Chain Mail DNA
The organisms that cause us untold suffering can also be astounding works of art, sculpted by evolution into elegant, deadly packages. Such is the case for the trypanosomes, the protists I discussed last time as the source of Chagas Disease, but which also cause sleeping sickness in Africa.
Tiger Skins Are Like Fingerprints; Could That Help Stop Smugglers and Poachers?
Last month forest rangers in India arrested a 21-year-old engineering student and his friend who had been caught carrying a tiger skin that they intended to sell for nearly $25,000.
The Case for Inheritance of Epigenetic Changes in Chromosomes
Harmful chemicals, stress and other influences can permanently alter which genes are turned on without changing any of the genes' code. Now, it appears, some of these “epigenetic” changes are passed down to—and may cause disease in— future generations
DNA with Man-Made Bases Functions Just Fine
These “unnatural base pairs” are a first for synthetic biology
DNA Finds New Octopus Species Hiding in Plain Sight
Describing a new species for science is not quite as easy as it was in the days of 17th- or 18th-century naturalists. But that just means we have to look a little more closely.
Diet during Pregnancy Linked to Diabetes in Grandchildren
New work from the University of Cambridge solidifies link between epigenetic effects from in utero diet and health problems across generations
Genetic Mutation May Lead to Autism Subtype
CHD8, a gene that regulates the structure of DNA, is the closest thing so far to an “autism gene”
The Male Sex Chromosome Isn’t Shrinking
It may be small, but the Y chromosome is here to stay
How to Get New Genes Into a Cell
A teeny device for fundamental genetics
Brainomics: Hacking the Brain (and Autism) with Gene Machines
What if you could trace brain circuits as if you were sequencing genes? A scientist at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory thinks you can.
Is Your Sense of Humor in Your Genes? Geneticists Crack the Code
// Editor's note: Brain Basics from Scientific American Mind is a series of short video primers on the brain and how we feel, think and act.