Genetics

Life

To get a deeper tan, don’t sunbathe every day

Skin cells make protective melanin on a 48-hour cycle.

Genetics

DNA differences are linked to having same-sex sexual partners

Genetic differences are associated with choosing same-sex partners in both men and women.

Astronomy

Readers wonder about a hydrogen wall, pig lung transplants and more

Readers had questions about a glow at the edge of the solar system, pig lung transplants, the use of the word promiscuous and more.

Genetics

Genealogy databases could reveal the identity of most Americans

Keeping your DNA private is getting harder.

Plants

Gene editing can speed up plant domestication

CRISPR/Cas9 replays domestication to make better ground cherries and tomatoes.

Genetics

Smuggling a CRISPR gene editor into staph bacteria can kill the pathogen

A new way fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria co-opts toxin-producing genes.

Genetics

Ibrahim Cissé unlocks cells’ secrets using physics

Biophysicist Ibrahim Cissé finds clues in raindrops and morning dew about how genes are activated.

Animals

Jenny Tung wants to know how social stresses mess with genes

Evolutionary anthropologist Jenny Tung is untangling the many health effects of life as a social animal.

Genetics

In lab tests, this gene drive wiped out a population of mosquitoes

For the first time, a gene drive caused a population crash of mosquitoes in a small-scale test.

Life

DNA from seized elephant ivory unmasks 3 big trafficking cartels in Africa

Scientists can sleuth out wildlife crime and aid law enforcement by tracing elephant DNA from ivory seizures back to the source.

Genetics

A recount of human genes ups the number to at least 46,831

A new estimate of the number of human genes adds in some RNA-producing genes.

Genetics

German skeletons hint that medieval warrior groups recruited from afar

Graveyard finds may come from an ancient European warrior household with political pull.