Hibernating mammals rely on particular genes to adjust their metabolisms as they enter that unique, low-energy state — and humans actually carry that same hibernation-related DNA. Now, early research hints that leveraging this particular DNA could help treat medical conditions in people, scientists say. Hibernation offers “a whole bunch of different biometrically important superpowers,” senior … Read more
DNA that humans acquired from ancient viruses plays a key role in switching parts of our genetic code on and off, a new study has found. Nearly half of the human genome consists of segments called transposable elements (TEs), also known as “jumping genes” because they can hop around the genome. Some of these TEs … Read more
Scientists have created a new biocomputing chip that makes calculations using a DNA substrate, including mathematical operations essential to artificial intelligence (AI) training and big data processing. Researchers described the new biocomputing platform Oct. 19, 2023, in the journal PLOS One. DNA is known as the blueprint for life and encodes genetic information, like data … Read more
Several children born with a rare, inherited form of deafness can now hear thanks to two new gene therapies, clinical trial results show. Both therapies target the gene for otoferlin, a protein in the inner ear that lets nerve cells translate vibrations from sound into electrical signals that can be interpreted by the brain. Mutations … Read more
Why do common shrews live for only two years, while bowhead whales survive for two centuries? And could the answer give us hints as to how to extend our own, human life spans? The maximum life span of each species is estimated using the age of its longest-living member, and these vary by orders of … Read more
Telomeres are the “caps” that protect the ends of DNA strands from being destroyed by a cell. They are made up of areas of repeated DNA sequences combined with specific proteins at the ends of chromosomes — the tightly wound structures of DNA and proteins inside cells. Telomeres play a role in how fast cells … Read more
A synthetic minibrain made out of human and mouse neurons has successfully learned to play the video game “Pong” after researchers hooked it up to a computer-controlled electrode array. It is the first time that brain cells isolated from an organism have completed a task like this, suggesting that such learning ability is not limited … Read more
DNA from ancient microorganisms, some of which dates back to roughly 1 million years ago, has been discovered beneath the seafloor in Antarctica. The DNA is the oldest ever discovered from seafloor sediments, a new study shows. Scientists accidentally collected the unusual genetic samples, known as sedimentary ancient DNA or sedaDNA, up to 584 feet … Read more
Genetic changes that crop up in an organism’s DNA may not be completely random, new research suggests. That would upend one of the key assumptions of the theory of evolution. Researchers studying the genetic mutations in a common roadside weed, thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), have discovered that the plant can shield the most “essential” genes … Read more
