News

Most of us who’ve reached middle age have noticed a slowing in memory and cognition, but scientists don’t have a clear picture of the molecular changes that take place in the brain to cause it, until now.

Epilepsy in infants ranges in severity and can leave caregivers with questions about their child’s health. While genetic testing to help determine the cause of epilepsy is possible, comprehensive testing does not always happen routinely.

A large-scale international collaboration has identified new genes associated with breast cancer that could eventually be included in tests to identify women at increased risk of the disease.

Researchers applied “genome graph” techniques developed to detect massive structural DNA changes that rearrange, copy, and delete huge sections of chromosomes.

A single injection of a novel CRISPR gene-editing treatment safely and efficiently removes SIV – a virus related to the AIDS-causing agent HIV – from the genomes of non-human primates.

Carriers of a certain variant of the STING gene are at greater risk of invasive streptococcal infections, particularly if they encounter the bacterial strains that have increased in the western world since the 1980s.

A study has described how a gene mutation linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) disrupts the stability of neurons and “chokes off” their nuclei, impairing their function, and suggests that an anti-cancer drug could improve stability in lab models.

Scientists reanalyzed the genome of “Ötzi”, one of the oldest human glacier mummies. Their data reveals new, “surprising” insights into his ancestry and physical characteristics, including the fact he was likely bald and had a “healthy” lifestyle.

Two molecular languages at the origin of life have been successfully recreated and mathematically validated. The breakthrough opens new doors for the development of nanotechnologies.

Using fossil data, supercomputer simulations of past climate and insights from genomics, researchers have identified that ice age cycles influenced interbreeding between early human species.