Is your cat vocal or quiet? The explanation could be in their genes

Scientists have found a gene that is linked to noisier cats.

Grace Carroll, Lecturer in Animal Behaviour and Welfare, School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast • conversation
June 24, 2025 • ~6 min

RNA has newly identified role: Repairing serious DNA damage to maintain the genome

Researchers discovered a previously unknown function of RNA, potentially opening the door to new ways to treat cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

Francesca Storici, Professor of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology • conversation
June 16, 2025 • ~6 min

How did humans evolve such rotten genetics?

We may have complex brains but evolution hasn’t dealt us the best hand when it comes to genetics.

Laurence D. Hurst, Professor of Evolutionary Genetics at The Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath • conversation
June 4, 2025 • ~8 min

If it looks like a dire wolf, is it a dire wolf? How to define a species is a scientific and philosophical question

Figuring out whether de-extinction is possible is as much a technical puzzle as a philosophical one. Add two kinds of DNA to the mix, and it gets even more complex.

Elay Shech, Professor of Philosophy, Auburn University • conversation
May 30, 2025 • ~12 min

How your genes interact with your environment changes your disease risk − new research counts the ways

Environmental factors such as lifestyle and the medications you take influence the effects your genes have on your body − and can clarify how diseases develop.

Arun Durvasula, Assistant Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California • conversation
May 14, 2025 • ~10 min

Researchers uncovered hundreds of genes linked to OCD, providing clues about how it changes the brain − new research

Researchers examined the DNA of over 53,000 people with OCD and over 2 million people without OCD, gathering data that could one day improve treatment.

Carol Mathews, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Florida • conversation
May 13, 2025 • ~9 min

Can we really resurrect extinct animals, or are we just creating hi-tech lookalikes?

Are new approaches to recreating long-lost animals simply creating imitations?

Timothy Hearn, Senior Lecturer in Bioinformatics, Anglia Ruskin University • conversation
April 10, 2025 • ~9 min

23andMe is potentially selling more than just genetic data – the personal survey info it collected is just as much a privacy problem

If you were a 23andMe customer, your genetic and personal information could be used in civil or criminal cases, targeted advertising, medical discrimination and so much more.

Kayte Spector-Bagdady, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan • conversation
April 2, 2025 • ~10 min

How viruses blur the boundaries of life

The question of whether viruses are alive or dead is a controversial one in science.

Heshmat Borhani, Lecturer in Bioinformatics, University of Nottingham • conversation
March 31, 2025 • ~7 min

How viruses blur the the boundaries of life

The question of whether viruses are alive or dead is a controversial one in science.

Heshmat Borhani, Lecturer in Bioinformatics, University of Nottingham • conversation
March 31, 2025 • ~7 min

/

10