genes

Some people who live to a great age put it down to an evening tot of whisky, others to staying out of trouble. Now scientists think they may have unlocked a key secret to long life – quite simply, genetics.Writing in the journal Science,…

On sheer rock walls in West Africa, a small, unassuming plant carries a genetic trait that does not belong in its family, disobeying the usual rules of inheritance. This discovery challenges long-held assumptions about how plants change,…

When the woman's phone began to ring one morning in June, she did not know that the news she would receive would hurtle her and her teenage daughter into a "tunnel" of medical appointments, tests — and fear. On the other end of the…

When the woman's phone began to ring one morning in June, she did not know that the news she would receive would hurtle her and her teenage daughter into a "tunnel" of medical appointments, tests — and fear. On the other end of the…

High in the Ecuadorian Andes, at altitudes thousands of meters above sea level, humans face environmental pressures very different from those at lower altitudes.The human body can acclimatize, physiologically, to the lower levels of…

When a supercentenarian, someone who is older than 110 years old, is interviewed, they are inevitably asked to share their tips for longevity. But what if their secret could be…

Most of us carry a small trace of Neanderthal ancestry and, in some cases, that legacy sits in our legs. A single change in a muscle enzyme can subtly throttle how hard muscles can work under pressure.People outside Africa typically…

Most of us carry a small trace of Neanderthal ancestry and, in some cases, that legacy sits in our legs. A single change in a muscle enzyme can subtly throttle how hard muscles can work under pressure.People outside Africa typically…

Three scientists learned they carry genes that significantly increase their risk for Alzheimer's. Here's how…

With their little beady black eyes and dappled gray fur, the mice born in a recent lab experiment in Hong Kong are unlike any others of their species, or indeed any other animal. And yet in spite of their fundamental differences,…