Genetics

20 years after the human genome was first sequenced, dangerous gene myths abound | Philip Ball

Misleading rhetoric has fuelled the belief that our genetic code is an ‘instruction book’ – but it’s far more interesting than that, says science writer Philip Ball

Philip Ball

09, Jun, 2021 @10:43 AM

Mixed messages: is research into human-monkey embryos ethical?

Biologists recently created a chimera with both human and monkey cells. But not all scientists are happy to blur species boundaries

Philip Ball

15, May, 2021 @3:00 PM

No visitors but teeming with life: what’s going on inside the Natural History Museum?

While its doors have been closed to the public, scientists have been busy digitising its vast archive – from 100-year-old insects to rare minerals

Phoebe Weston, pictures by David Levene

13, May, 2021 @5:00 AM

A Space in Time review – lyrical portrait of a family facing an incurable disorder

This poignant documentary about two young brothers with Duchenne muscular dystrophy celebrates the power of love and togetherness

Phuong Le

10, May, 2021 @1:00 PM

Scientists launch search for genetic test to spot killer prostate cancer

Gene-screening, as is used to detect some breast cancer risks, could save thousands of lives

Robin McKie

08, May, 2021 @1:18 PM

What are the new Covid variants and what do they mean for the pandemic?

From Doug to Nelly and Eeek, we look at how mutations are affecting the battle against the virus

Ian Sample Science editor

16, Apr, 2021 @9:34 PM

Researchers find the secret of the bunny hop: it's all in the genes

Scientists pinpoint gene necessary for animals to adopt a typical gait by studying breed of rabbit that can’t hop

Nicola Davis Science correspondent

25, Mar, 2021 @6:00 PM

Fish detectives: the sleuths using ‘e-DNA’ to fight seafood fraud

A Canadian supplier known for wild salmon has teamed up with geneticists to prove what really ends up on the plate

Stephen Leahy

16, Mar, 2021 @6:00 AM

What price a child's life? India's quest to make rare disease drugs affordable

Parents whose only hope was finding foreign sponsorship or a clinical trial are now looking for homegrown breakthroughs

Priti Salian

15, Mar, 2021 @6:45 AM

The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson review – a science page-turner

Designer babies and ethical quicksand ... The biographer of Steve Jobs tells the story of Jennifer Doudna and the development of gene-editing

Laura Spinney

11, Mar, 2021 @7:30 AM

Kathleen Folbigg: how genetics could lead to a pardon for 'Australia's worst female serial killer'

She has always maintained her four children died of natural causes. Now 90 scientists argue she may be right

Calla Wahlquist

06, Mar, 2021 @7:00 PM

After the Nobel, what next for Crispr gene-editing therapies?

Hailed as the ‘molecular scissors’ that will allow us to rewrite our genes, the DNA tool is being trialled in treatments for everything from sickle-cell anaemia to cancer

Philip Ball

21, Feb, 2021 @9:00 AM