The smell of coffee leads to changes in gene activity in sleep-deprived rats, hinting at the molecular basis for the relaxing effect of the aroma seen in experiments.

Genes key to the development of modern animals' body plans show up in primitive-looking comb jellies.

A new 3-D microscopy technique offers unprecedented views of cells.

Using a new method of data analysis, researchers have found that the Americas were peopled in two different migrations.

Deep inside our cells, the DNA that encodes the mysteries of our individuality twines into tidy little spiral staircases neatly side by side — or so we might imagine. Consider, though, that if you scale up the nucleus of a cell to the size of a basketball, each molecule of DNA inside it would resemble fishing line more than four miles long. And now consider what happens to your iPod headphones when you cram them into a pocket: Invariably, it seems, they tangle. And they’re only a foot long! Now you have a picture of the gargantuan task your cells face in managing the ...