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Re-Engineering the Cellular Factory to Build a Better Delivery System for Gene Editors

Gene editing has emerged as a powerful approach for targeting the genetic causes of disease, but getting the editing machinery into the right cells efficiently, safely, and at the scale needed for therapies remains one of the biggest set of challenges in the field.

25 Apr 2026

Plant Peroxisome Study Offers New Insights Into Conserved Cellular Functions

For most of their lives, plants get their energy from photosynthesis. But during the seed to seedling stage when they can't absorb light just yet, they rely on other sources, like fatty acids.

25 Apr 2026

Ancient Genetic Sequences Found to Drive Human Language Abilities

In a first-of-its-kind finding, researchers at University of Iowa Health Care discovered that specific genetic sequences have an outsized impact on humans' language abilities and that these sequences evolved before humans and Neanderthals diverged.

23 Apr 2026

Painkillers reduce electric shock escape behaviour in lobsters

Analgesic treatments in Norway lobsters show promise in reducing shock responses, emphasizing the need for humane practices in crustacean research and industry.

23 Apr 2026

Genetic Study Reveals Biological Drivers of Frailty in Aging

Researchers at McMaster University have identified, for the first time, a novel region of DNA and two associated genes connected to frailty, offering neurological and immune-related insights that might help explain why some older adults are more likely to be frail than others.

22 Apr 2026

Is Fast Food Harming the Gut Health of Seagulls? We Could be About to Find Out

A brand new study looking at the impact of fast food on the gut health of seagulls has just won funding from the Royal Society.

22 Apr 2026

Scientists Map Human Genes That Control HIV Infection Dynamics

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which is the cause of AIDS, is a master of deception, using just nine genes to hijack the complex cellular machinery of the human body.

21 Apr 2026

Epigenetic Regulators Shape Gene Activity in Unexpected Ways

A new study finds the proteins responsible for controlling which genes are expressed in a genome do more than simply turn a gene on or off.

21 Apr 2026

Stem Cell Model Reveals Mechanics of Early Human Embryo Development

For the first time, a stem cell model has produced a structure resembling an early human embryo with a yolk-sac-like structure, from a single starting stem cell population and without direct genetic manipulation.

21 Apr 2026

Structured National Genomic Program can be Effective for Rare Disease Diagnosis

For many families, eight years of uncertainty meant repeated specialist visits, inconclusive genetic tests and the growing fear that a clear answer might never come. For nearly half of the children enrolled in the Telethon Undiagnosed Disease Program (TUDP), that wait is now over.

21 Apr 2026

Regulatory Genetic Elements Coordinate Temporal Activity of Key Developmental Gene

In a new study published in Genes & Development, research led by Dr Lila Allou at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) in London and Professor Stefan Mundlos at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics and Charité in Berlin demonstrates how different regulatory genetic elements coordinate the temporal activity of a key developmental gene.

20 Apr 2026

Single-Molecule Imaging Reveals How Anabaena Maintains Its Rectangular Shape

Photosynthetic bacteria helped shape Planet Earth. Among them are cyanobacteria that produced the oxygen in our atmosphere and made complex life possible, captivating scientists for decades. Now, researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) report a surprising new discovery-a system thought to separate DNA has developed to sculpt the shape of the cell in cyanobacteria instead. The results, published in Science, shed light on how protein systems evolve and how multicellularity emerged in this type of ecologically essential bacteria.

17 Apr 2026

New Technology Tracks Real-Time Gene Activity to Find Common Disease Targets

Diseases like cancer or neurodegeneration are known to arise from genetic misfires. But treating such complex conditions hasn't been simply a matter of identifying the malfunctioning genes involved. With hundreds of genetic mutations spanning diverse pathways at play, connecting the dots between a constellation of mutations and a specific outcome has proved to be enormously difficult.

16 Apr 2026

Researchers Map the Genetic History of Savanna and Forest Elephant Species

In the largest genomic mapping of Africa's elephants, an international team of researchers shows that elephant history is defined by the ability to move across large distances and exchange genes throughout the African continent. But as the elephants' living space is becoming increasingly patchy, the study documents the visible genetic consequences of isolation – and points to approaches that help to incorporate genomics into current and future elephant conservation.

16 Apr 2026

1,116 Genomes Mapped to Reveal Hidden Human DNA Variation

The 1KCP pangenome enhances genetic research by mapping diverse DNA variations, crucial for understanding disease risk and advancing population genetics.

16 Apr 2026

Genetic Barcodes Reveal Early Origins of Human Peripheral Nerves

Millions of neurons branch throughout our bodies, keeping them in close communication with our brains. This peripheral network begins to take shape long before birth, as the cells of a growing embryo move into position and adopt their specialized roles.

15 Apr 2026