Genetics | Science News for Students

Genetics

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
an adult emu and her chick in a grassland

Emus and their relatives may have lost the ability to fly because of changes in DNA that regulates genes. Here, an emu walks with its chick.

Graeme Chapman

Evolution
 
May 8, 2019
How some birds lost the ability to fly
a photo of two chess players shaking hands

Handshakes can really leave an impression. You might leave enough of your DNA behind to end up on the next object your handshaking partner touches — without ever touching it yourself.

South_agency/Getty

Genetics
 
Apr 17, 2019
Shaking hands could transfer your DNA — leaving it on things you never touched
a white labrador dog wearing a red harness is trotting on a green lawn, its head is lowered as though sniffing the ground

Being stressed or afraid may alter a person’s usual scent. That can throw dogs off the person’s track. People with a particular version of a gene may have a bigger change in odor when stressed, data show.

fsHH/Pixabay

Genetics
 
Apr 16, 2019
The smell of fear may make it hard for dogs to track some people
a computer illustration of in vitro fertilization

Some researchers argue it’s too soon to alter the genes of human embryos, creating changes that can be inherited.

Christoph Burgstedt/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Science & Society
 
Apr 12, 2019
Some scientists ask for ban on the gene editing of babies
a photo of a smiling family with a baby girl in the middle

We inherit genes from our parents. Genes are like a recipe that’s passed along from one generation to the next. But the number of genes doesn’t explain why we are more complex than simple animals or bacteria.

digitalskillet/iStockphoto

Genetics
 
Feb 8, 2019
Explainer: What are genes?