A new piece to the autism puzzle
Neuroscientists find that two rare autism-related disorders are caused by opposing malfunctions in the brain.
Seeing cancer in three dimensions
Scientists find that the 3-D structure of a cancer cell’s chromosomes plays a big role in which genes get deleted or copied.
Unraveling how a mutation can lead to psychiatric illness
MIT neuroscientists show that a gene linked with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder impairs early brain development.
Materials research in the Information Age
MIT, Lawrence Berkeley launch new tool to calculate properties of new materials
Bacteria may readily swap beneficial genes
Microbes have developed a quick and effective way to exchange genetic information coding for antibiotic resistance, other functions.
Analysis of 29 mammals reveals genomic ‘dark matter’
Genomic comparison offers a new map for charting human disease and biology.
New lung cancer gene found
Cancer biologists identify a driving force behind the spread of an aggressive type of lung cancer.
Scientists unveil tools for rewriting the code of life
New technology from MIT and Harvard can edit DNA at the genome scale, giving cells novel functions.
Study explains why men are at higher risk for stomach cancer
MIT researchers show how estrogen protects women from the gastric inflammation that can lead to cancer.
Biologists discover how yeast cells reverse aging
The gene they found can double yeast lifespan when turned on late in life.
Evolution, reversed
Physicists’ study of evolution in bacteria shows that adaptations can be undone, but rarely.
Understanding why lung cancer spreads
MIT biologists pinpoint a genetic change that helps tumors move to other parts of the body.
Scientists decipher 3-billion-year-old genomic fossils
Analysis of modern-day genomes finds evidence for ancient environmental change and a massive expansion in genetic diversity.
The code for survival
Cells fight stress by reprogramming a system of RNA modifications, researchers find.
3 Questions: Evelyn Fox Keller on the nature-nurture debates
In a new book, prominent historian of science dismisses the ‘unanswerable’ question of whether heredity or the environment matter more in human development.