New Atlas

Biology Audio available

Swappable DNA tiles makes for world's smallest tic-tac-toe game

Michael Irving December 20, 2018

DNA is the building material of life, but recent work shows it can also be used to make art or even store data. Now, a team at Caltech has used DNA to make the world’s smallest game of tic-tac-toe, and the technique could have applications in designing reconfigurable nanomachines.

An artist's render of how the DNA tic-tac-toe game played out

Space Audio available

NASA experiment shows DNA sugars could be floating around in space

Michael Irving December 18, 2018

Evidence is building that life's chemical building blocks may start stacking up in space. Now, NASA astrophysicists have managed to create DNA sugars in a vacuum chamber that simulates interstellar space, and in follow-up studies found other sugar derivatives in meteorite samples.

DNA sugars may form in the interstellar medium, which is seeded with vital molecules from nebulae

Biology Audio available

Genetic study finds biological sex is more complicated than just chromosomes

Michael Irving December 16, 2018

It’s generally understood that an embryo with two X chromosomes will develop as female, while an XY combo will be male. But this simple rule may be too simple. A new genetics study out of Australia has identified extra pieces of the puzzle that could explain some disorders of sex development (DSD).

Researchers have found extra pieces of the puzzle that determine biological sex in embryos

Medical Audio available

Acne treatment hopes raised after genetic study reveals hair ties

Rich Haridy December 16, 2018

In a study investigating the genetic origins of acne, researchers have homed in on several genetic regions associated with the condition. Fascinatingly, many of these genetic regions are also associated with hair follicle function, highlighting a potential target mechanism for new acne treatments.

A new study suggests genes that influence acne also play a role in hair follicle formation

Medical Audio available

New CRISPR technique could prevent obesity without cutting or editing a genome

Rich Haridy December 13, 2018

An exciting new study has demonstrated how a new kind of CRISPR technique can increase the expression of certain genes, instead of the more traditional approach of cutting or editing DNA. The method was tested in mice, targeting genes associated with hunger, and stopped the animals becoming obese.

A new technique called CRISPRa can increase the expression of a single gene without cutting or ...

Science Audio available

New study suggests Alzheimer's is not one disease but six different conditions

Rich Haridy December 5, 2018

A large team of researchers has developed a new way to classify patients with Alzheimer’s disease suggesting we should think of the disease as six distinctly different conditions instead of one single disease.

Based on a new study, researchers are aiming to reclassify Alzheimer's disease into a set of ...

Biology Audio available

Birth of world's first gene-edited babies triggers ethical outcry

Michael Irving November 26, 2018

The world’s first gene-edited human babies have been born in China. Professor Jiankui He claims that by removing a specific gene from the embryos using CRISPR-Cas9, the twin girls would have a natural immunity to HIV. But scientists question the safety, effectiveness and morality of the procedure.

The world's first gene-edited human babies have reportedly been born in China

Biology Audio available

Scientists crack the mystery of Xenothrix

James Holloway November 14, 2018

The mystery of a highly unusual Caribbean monkey has finally been solved. Xenothrix, a long-extinct primate, was so unlike any other living monkey that no one could agree what it was. Thanks to DNA analysis we now know that it is most closely related to South America's titi monkeys.

The red titi monkey is Xenothrix' closest living relative

Medical Audio available

How moth viruses, magnetic particles and gene editing could cure disease

Michael Irving November 12, 2018

Researchers at Rice University have developed a new way to activate treatments only in the right places, using an inert virus, magnetic nanoparticles and the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9.

Rice researchers have developed a new method for targeted gene editing

Medical

Cellular kill code discovery may help extinguish cancers

Rich Haridy October 30, 2018

Research has discovered that inside every cell in the human body is a kill code designed to trigger self-destruction if it senses a cell is turning cancerous. Across two studies the scientists homed in on the code underlying this mechanism and believe it may lead to a new kind of cancer treatment.

An ancient mechanism can hopefully be appropriated in the future to develop a new way of ...