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DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA).

New SCOPE Tool Transforms Discovery of Gene-Regulating Proteins

A new tool greatly improves scientists' ability to identify and study proteins that regulate gene activity in cells, according to research led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

30 Sep 2025

Chromosome Zippers Rely on DNA Junctions to Safeguard Fertility

Every new life begins after a genetic shuffle. When organisms make eggs or sperm, maternal and paternal chromosomes pair up and swap pieces of DNA in a process called crossing over.

26 Sep 2025

Cryo-EM Study Uncovers Hidden Steps in NMDA Receptor Activation

When it comes to brain proteins, small changes can make a dramatic difference. Researchers studying NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors, which are essential for learning, memory and moment-by-moment consciousness, know that even slight changes in their activity level can mean the difference between normal function and serious neurological disorders.

25 Sep 2025

How Chromosome Crossovers Safeguard Fertility and Genetic Health

When a woman becomes pregnant, the outcome of that pregnancy depends on many things - including a crucial event that happened while she was still growing inside her own mother's womb.

25 Sep 2025

Enhancing Genome Editing Through Systematic CAST Optimization

Natural systems such as CRISPR-associated transposons (CASTs) offer a targetable, one-step way to edit genomes.

25 Sep 2025

Honeybee Food-Sharing Genes Linked to Human Social Behavior

The study links genetic variation to honeybee sociability, revealing insights into food-sharing behavior and its evolutionary significance in social networks.

25 Sep 2025

Picoquant Invests in Fluobrick Solutions to Simplify Access to Single Molecule Research

PicoQuant GmbH announces its investment in FluoBrick Solutions GmbH, a newly founded Berlin-based start-up focused on giving life science researchers in academia and pharma diagnostics access to the power of single molecule techniques.

25 Sep 2025

Molecular Fossils Offer Fresh Insights into the Dawn of Biology

The questions of how humankind came to be, and whether we are alone in the universe, have captured imaginations for millennia. But to answer these questions, scientists must first understand life itself and how it could have arisen.

24 Sep 2025

New Research Challenges the Static View of Chromosome Shape

An international team of researchers from the Francis Crick Institute, Imperial College London, Waseda University, and the Cancer Institute of the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research has reshaped the concept of chromosome shape, discovering that they are not always stable X-shaped structures but are constantly in flux as cell division occurs.

24 Sep 2025

Gut Microbes Influence Human Genes and Health

The trillions of microbes that live in the human gut may play a bigger role in health than previously thought, according to a new research by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

24 Sep 2025

Oligo-Barcodes Enable High-Resolution Chromosome Mapping in Tropical Fruits

Karyotype analysis plays a central role in cytogenetics, helping to reveal evolutionary processes and species relationships.

23 Sep 2025

Chromatin Accessibility Shapes Growth and Stress Response in Blue Mold

Blue mold, caused by Penicillium expansum, is one of the most destructive postharvest diseases, leading to economic losses across fruit supply chains.

23 Sep 2025

Innovative Alternative Gene Editing Approach May Be Safer Than CRISPR

Genetic editing holds promise to treat incurable diseases, but the most popular method - CRISPR - sometimes does more harm than good.

22 Sep 2025

Novel Chromosome Identification System Overcomes Longstanding Bottleneck in Alfalfa Cytogenetics

Karyotype analysis is fundamental to understanding genetic makeup, diversity, and adaptation in plants. Yet, distinguishing individual chromosomes remains challenging in species with small, uniform chromosomes and complex polyploid genomes such as alfalfa.

22 Sep 2025