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Gene studies suggest ‘races’ may exist but sociologists push back, fearing stereotypes

Meredith Knight | 
Sociologists worry that research into population differences will create a new kind of racism while geneticists believe that social scientists ...
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Birth of ‘living materials’ at MIT combines synthetic biology, materials engineering

Kenrick Vezina | 
Hot on the heels of the creation of bionic plants, MIT has announced the development of "living materials" using bacteria, ...
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Can grapefruits be dangerous with drugs? The answer is in our genes

Ben Locwin | 
Many people believe that just because a food is unprocessed that it's safe. But many foods can interact with drugs, ...
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How to dance to show off your genes–and catch a woman’s eye

Christopher Ingraham | 
Want to show off your excellent genetics on the dance floor? Well, biologists have figured out which dance moves are ...
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Largest genome ever sequenced: Loblolly pine

Kenrick Vezina | 
A new record: scientists successfully sequenced the genome of the loblolly pine, a 100-foot-tall tree with 23 billion base pairs ...
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Revisiting the “gay gene” controversy: Homosexuality is only a disorder if society makes it one

Kenrick Vezina | 
Earlier this year, findings shared at the annual AAAS meeting triggered a firestorm of "gay gene" headlines and reactionary op-eds ...
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You can’t learn everything from your DNA, but what you can could save your life

Barry Starr | 
Between false negatives and false positives, genetic testing isn't a perfect prognosticator. Even so, it can provide life-saving information ...
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Personalized medicine may cost more than cures

Barry Werth | 
Personalized medicine promises to offer targeted, individualized treatment to the masses. But what will it do to the pharmaceutical industry ...
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Your genes give you a unique world of smells–1.7 trillion scents

Kenrick Vezina | 
Humans can distinguish between 1.7 trillion smells on average. Ed Yong blogs about it at National Geographic, revealing in the ...
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Genetic mug shots created from DNA samples

Peter Aldhous | 
Using a new technique, researchers can build photorealistic 3d images of people, virtual mugshots, based on just their DNA ...
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Transhumanism in the crosshairs: The dark side of radical longevity

Kenrick Vezina | 
Will the radical longevity promised by futurists like J. Craig Venter allow us to create hell on earth, intentionally or ...
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New York Times flunks genetic literacy challenge: No, mutations don’t kill-off genes

Ben Locwin | 
The New York Times failed a recent genetic literacy 'test' in a story on the genetic roots of diabetes ...
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Evil twin of embryos: The tumor

George Johnson | 
Researchers are finding that the genes and biological mechanisms that guide the development of fetal cells within a fetus are ...
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Chicken genomes and human history: What can the DNA of our animal associates can reveal about our past?

Kenrick Vezina | 
A new study uses chicken genetics to poke holes in the theory that Polynesians reached South America before Europeans. It ...
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Resurrection ecology: Searching for ancient DNA

Carl Zimmer | 
Scientists can revive thousand-year dormant mosses and they're searching for viable cells that would make it possible to revive extinct ...
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Does success come from your parents? New book supports genetic determinism

Clive Crook | 
A new book supports the idea that socio-economic success is mostly a result of genetics. The idea that humans behavior ...
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Bionic plants developed at MIT focus on the “tech” half of biotech

Anne Trafton | 
Researchers at MIT have enhanced plants' abilities using nanomaterials, specifically carbon nanotubes. The cyborg plants can perform supercharged photosynthesis or ...
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Angelina turns to another preventative surgery, based on BRCA1 mutation

Bahar Gholipour | 
Angelina Jolie's mutation-inspired preventative double mastectomy raised public awareness of the risks associated with BRCA1 mutations. Now, she's looking at ...
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The selfish gene debate: The power of stories in science and society

Kenrick Vezina | 
Science writer David Dobbs wrote an article late last year calling for a new narrative to help us understand evolution ...
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DNA and the masses: Genetics as identity

Ken Chahine | 
You can have your DNA sequenced faster, easier and more completely than ever before. ln light of these advances, it's ...
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‘Fat gene’ stands falsely accused, offers lesson in gene-gene interactions

Kenrick Vezina | 
For much of the last decade, a gene called FTO has been touted as a 'fat gene'. Now it seems ...
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23andMe slowed by FDA order, but the company (and personalized medicine) advances

Jemima Kiss | 
23andMe's conflict with the FDA has slowed the stream of people subscribing to the service, but co-founder Anne Wojcicki thinks ...
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Teen identifies rare mutation in her own cancer, champions new age of open-access genetics

Kenrick Vezina | 
Elana Simon, an 18-year-old high school student, has published a "groundbreaking" genetic study of her own rare cancer in Science ...
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Acid bath stem cell method scientist retracts study

James Gallagher | 
The researchers behind the acid bath stem cell method that caused a stir in January have asked to retract the ...
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Elephant intellect: Genius in the largest brain on land

Ferris Jabr | 
Scientists are finally probing the elephant brain to find out how cooperative problem solving, tool use, and even self-awareness can ...
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Greater variety of pre-natal screenings now offered

Erika Check Hayden | 
The list of available pre-natal genetic screening tests is growing. The tests are non-invasive and generally have a low false-positive ...
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Was Lamarck right? Epigenetic research suggests we might inherit learned traits. But how?

Kenrick Vezina | 
It seems almost certain that epigenetic effects -- an annotation to DNA that changes how genes are expressed -- can ...
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