Genetics
A Single Gene in One Species Can Cause Other Species to Go Extinct
This “keystone” variant of a gene could make or break a food web in an experimental system
"DNA"
Genetics
Completing the Human Genome Sequence (Again)
The Telomere-to-Telomere consortium just sequenced the tricky final 10 percent of the essentially complete human genome
Animals
Genes Reveal How Some Rockfish Live up to 200 Years
Scientists surveyed dozens of species’ genomes to uncover keys to longevity
Anthropology
Genomes Show the History and Travels of Indigenous Peoples
A new study demonstrates “I ka wā mamua, ka wā ma hope,” or “the future is in the past”
Politics
Francis Collins, Head of NIH Who Led Human Genome Project, to Step Down
After 12 years at the helm of the top biomedical research agency, the geneticist will return to running his lab by year’s end
Microbiology
COVID Advances Win $3-million Breakthrough Prizes
Pioneers of mRNA vaccines and next-generation sequencing techniques are among the winners of science’s most lucrative awards
Genetic Engineering: Progress and Controversy
Genetic engineering, which refers to the direct manipulation of DNA, became a reality in the 1970s. In this eBook, we take a look at how far the field has come, starting with a revolutionary gene-editing tool called CRISPR that’s taking the research world by storm...
Biology
Crispr Cas9 HD final
Using the CRISPR–Cas9 system, scientists can do much more than gene editing—they can boost gene transcription or use fluorescent proteins to paint and track a chromosome. In this Nature Video animation, several innovative uses for CRISPR are outlined and explained. This video was reproduced with permission and was first published on October 31, 2017...
Evolution
How Cats Leapt from the Wild to Our Sofas
Tamed cats spread across the globe beginning almost 10,000 years ago, becoming the rodent-killing helpers of early farmers, mariners and Vikings. This video was reproduced with permission and was first published on June 19, 2017...
Biotech
One Start-Up Claims to Tailor Wine to Your DNA
The fruity with a hint of double helix assertion is not backed by strong science
Policy
Kuwait Law Mandating DNA Tests for All Residents Fuels Discontent
The controversial requirement would require 3.5 million people to submit samples to a new government database
Space & Physics
Astrobiology Roundup: 5 Cool Stories
Five intriguing discoveries and recent news items
Biology
10 Years of DNA Origami
DNA origami—the art of folding DNA—has expanded hugely in the 10 years since its conception. Nature Video finds out how you can fold DNA into robots. This article was reproduced with permission and was first published on March 18, 2016...
Environment
Policing Seafood with DNA
A federal task force should look seriously at investing in genomic methods that allow the simultaneous study of multiple genes
Along the Tiger's Trail: Genetic Studies Aid Conservation
Editor's Note: "Along the Tiger's Trail" is a series about the efforts to monitor tigers and their prey in the Malenad landscape in southwestern India that harbors one of the world's largest population of wild tigers...
A New Tool for Conservation Genetics: Seal Placentas
It's a sad fact that as members of a species become rarer they tend to suffer from inbreeding. This lack of genetic diversity can lead to birth defects and other problems, making a species even more endangered as time progresses...
The Sciences
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.
Evolution
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.
