Genetics is the branch of biological sciences that investigates the organization, transmission, variation, and functional consequences of hereditary information in organisms. It focuses on the structure and function of genes and genomes, the molecular mechanisms of DNA replication, transcription, and translation, and the regulation of gene expression across developmental and environmental contexts. Genetics encompasses classical (Mendelian) inheritance, molecular genetics, population and quantitative genetics, and genomics, providing the framework for understanding mutation, recombination, genetic linkage, and evolutionary change, as well as informing experimental design and interpretation in biomedical, agricultural, and model-organism research.
Before cells can divide, they first need to replicate all of their chromosomes, so that each of the daughter cells can receive a full set of genetic material. Until now, scientists had believed that as division occurs, the ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 17, 2025
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Molecular biologists have long believed that the beginning of a gene launched the process of transcription—the process by which a segment of DNA is copied into RNA and then RNA helps make the proteins that cells need to ...
Biotechnology
Oct 13, 2025
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197
Scientists have long suspected connections between heredity and disease, dating back to Hippocrates, who observed certain diseases "ran in families." However, through the years, scientists have kept getting better at finding ...
Biotechnology
Oct 10, 2025
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Many butterflies develop wing patterns that mimic other species to protect themselves from predators. While growing complex body parts like wings involves many genes, the difference between two versions of the same thing—like ...
Ecology
Oct 9, 2025
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1
Small plastic or metal bits at the end of shoelaces, known as aglets, prevent laces from unraveling and protect them from wear and tear. Similarly, chromosomes are capped by telomeres—specialized complexes of repetitive ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 25, 2025
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52
HHMI Janelia Research Campus Senior Group Leader Meng Wang and her team study longevity. They've shown that by overexpressing an enzyme in the lysosomes of the roundworm C. elegans, they can extend the worm's life by up to ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 25, 2025
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1
What is the secret of supercentenarians? While there is no magical "elixir of life" that allows us to live forever, this incredibly rare group of people who live to be 110 years or older appears to have some biological advantage. ...
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. This exchange is essential: without at ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 25, 2025
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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. It depends on the quality of the egg ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 24, 2025
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40
When scientists want to trace how a species has changed over time—and predict its prospects for survival—they turn to DNA. But what if the genetic map guiding them belongs to the wrong animal?
Plants & Animals
Sep 22, 2025
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