In biology, everything has a history. Creationists love to try to calculate the probability of a new gene spontaneously coming into existence, but that's not how genes are born. New genes most often…

Scientists have been trying to understand how and when we gain or lose fat cells, and now a paper in this week's issue of Nature reports that nuclear bombs are the key to solving this problem. To…

Much of the coverage of autism in the media focuses on the arguments of advocates, scientists, and government officials over the relationship between vaccines and autism. But out of the spotlight, a…

In 2001, the DNA sequence was published of a combination of persons. The DNA sequences of Jim Watson, discoverer of the DNA’s double helix structure, followed in 2007, and later the DNA of gene…

A new study released today in the online edition of Physiological Genomics finds that individuals with a specific genetic variation consistently consume more sugary foods. The study offers the first…

I haven't contributed a single thing to the platypus genome project, but since my desk sits one floor above where people and robots broke the platypus DNA into chunks, cloned those chunks into…

President Bush has a bill on his desk, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which will prohibit discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance…

An international study has discovered 10 new genes related to human growth. This meta-analysis, published in the latest issue of Nature Genetics, is based on data from more than 26,000 study…

The first genome sequencing project of a mammal that lays eggs is complete and, like the animal itself, the DNA of the platypus is something of a patchwork. The platypus, found in eastern Australia,…

A gut hormone that causes people to eat more does so by making food appear more desirable, suggests a new report in the May issue of Cell Metabolism. In a brain imaging study of individuals, the…