Genetics | Science News for Students

Genetics

electric eel

This newly discovered species of electric eel (Electrophorus voltai) can give quite a shock. Scientists measured a zap of 860 volts, making it the record holder among known species.

L. Sousa

Animals
 
Nov 15, 2019
Newly discovered eel sets a jolting record for animal voltage
rhinoviruses

Rhinoviruses (shown in this drawing) are behind most cases of the common cold. New research suggests a way to stop them, and others, from spreading in people.

Dr_Microbe/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Health
 
Oct 29, 2019
Could disabling one protein cure the common cold?
a photo of Sweetie, a black dog outside

This is Sweetie when she was a young dog. Is she part greyhound? Part Labrador? Her owner gave her a DNA test to find out. (A doggie friend digs in the background.)

L. Gunter; adapted by L. Steenblik Hwang

Genetics
 
Oct 24, 2019
What we can — and can’t — learn from our pets’ DNA
a photo of an open mouth about to be swabbed with a cotton swab

Open wide! Scientists can learn about your DNA when you buy a kit and then send a swab or tube of your saliva back to the company. 

PeJo29/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Genetics
 
Oct 24, 2019
Explainer: How DNA testing works
a photo of a chihuahua and a St. Bernard against a white background

A chihuahua and a St. Bernard don’t look like they have much in common. But they’re both the same sub-species. What’s the difference? A few genes.

cynoclub/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Genetics
 
Oct 24, 2019
DNA testing looks into dog breeds and cat history
an illustration of DNA being cut with scissors

Scientists are beginning human trials to treat disease with the “molecular scissors” known as CRISPR/Cas9. Some people with a form of inherited blindness will have it injected into their eyes, where researchers hope it will snip out a mutation.

TRAFFIC_ANALYZER/GETTY IMAGES PLUS

Genetics
 
Sep 16, 2019
CRISPR enters its first human trials
a photo of a skinny mouse and a plump mouse side by side

A study in mice showed altered immune cells led to weight gain. Gut microbes also played a role.  

Georgejason/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Microbes
 
Aug 16, 2019
Obesity in mice caused by defects in their immune system
a photo of an Ethiopian farmer's hands holding wheat grown in his field against a blue sky

Melese Tsegaye, a farmer in Kulumsa, Ethiopia, holds seed heads taken from stalks of wheat. Wheat is one of many crops that have suffered from disease outbreaks.

Peter Lowe/CIMMYT/Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Agriculture
 
Aug 15, 2019
As infections ravage food crops, scientists fight back
a close up photo of a mosquito with a red no symbol covering the mosquito

A new tactic swats at malaria by infecting the disease-carrying mosquitoes with a toxic fungus.

noipornpan/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Health
 
Jul 12, 2019
A fungus plus a spider toxin equals a weapon to kill mosquitoes
a photo of a researcher at a Russian excavation site
DNA from teeth unearthed at this Russian site came from a population of people who migrated to Siberia around 38,000 years ago.

Elena Pavlova

Genetics
 
Jul 10, 2019
DNA reveals clues to the Siberian ancestors of the first Americans