Genetics

The CRISPR gene-editing tool has been used inside the human body for the first time. In a new clinical trial, scientists at Oregon Health and Science University are testing the technique as a treatment for a genetic mutation that causes blindness.

Small “persister” populations of bacteria are able to hide from antibiotics, seeding a new colony afterwards. Now scientists at the University of Surrey have identified genetic mutations that turn some bugs into persisters by making them “forgetful.”

In the largest study ever conducted investigating disease risk and genetic sex hormone levels researchers have found naturally high testosterone levels can confer different effects between men and women, particularly in relation to type 2 diabetes.

Researchers have resurrected woolly mammoth genes, from one of the last known mammoth populations, in the lab. These mammoths were believed to have suffered genetic defects, and in tests the team found that the genes did not function normally.

The Pan-Cancer Project is an international collaboration dedicated to analyzing thousands of whole cancer genomes. The results have been published, revealing new details about cancer’s causes, development, classification, diagnosis and treatment.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is one of the most common and most devastating muscular diseases. Now researchers have managed to use the CRISPR gene-editing tool to correct the condition in pigs, bringing the treatment ever closer to human trials.

The ability of Grizzly bears to hibernate for up to four months without ill effects may be the key to helping prevent astronauts and medical patients from suffering debilitating muscle atrophy through the development of genetically-derived therapies.

Scientists have confirmed that facial deformities among the House of Habsburg were caused by inbreeding, according to a newly-published study. The twist: they reached their findings by studying paintings. The influential Austrian royal line produced European rulers between the 14th and 20th centuries.

Scientists at the University of Utah are looking at how bears and other mammals hibernate in an effort to find genetic clues for combating disease. They hope to identify similar regions in the human genome – especially those related to obesity.

A new study from a team of Japanese researchers is presenting a novel hypothesis as to the cause of a subtype of schizophrenia. The study also suggests a biomarker in human follicles could allow future diagnoses to be made using a single hair.

Humanity is poised to take a huge leap forward, as a convergence of next-gen technologies combine to give us unprecedented power over our own biology. Here's a roadmap to the key technologies and how it's going to play out in the coming decades.

A study has homed in on a gene linked to “short sleepers”, those with the ability to slumber for less than six hours a night with no negative consequences. The gene mutation also was found to prevent memory problems associated with sleep deprivation.