Genetics

With psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy on the cusp of broad clinical approval, millions of people may soon experience these hallucinogenic drugs for the first time. Can a genetic test help predict how individuals will respond to psychedelics?

The most detailed genomic study ever conducted of individuals over the age of 100 years has homed in on several genetic traits that may protect from age-related disease. Gene variants improving DNA repair processes were particularly prominent.

Scientists at Harvard have demonstrated an alternative to CRISPR – a genetic engineering system called Retron Library Recombineering (RLR) that works without cutting DNA and can be quickly applied to huge populations of cells.

In a breakthrough new study, scientists have created human-monkey chimera embryos for the first time. They make for more accurate models of human biology and disease - but of course they also raise some complicated ethical concerns.

Two new studies have shed light on just how often our ancestors got frisky with Neanderthals. Scientists analyzed the genomes of 45,000-year-old human remains found in Czechia and Bulgaria, including the oldest known genome of a modern human.

Scientists have created a synthetic single-celled organism that can divide and grow like a regular living cell. This breakthrough could lead to designer cells that can produce useful chemicals on demand or treat disease from inside the body.

A study investigating the relationship between genetics, diet and heart health is claiming the cardiovascular benefits often linked to taking fish oil supplements may be only apparent in those individuals of a certain genotype.

A striking new study has found gene expression can dramatically increase in some brain cells hours after a person dies. The researchers suggest scientists studying post-mortem brain tissue must take into account these significant changes in future work.

Harmful clusters of certain proteins are seen as key players in the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease, and scientists have now found that a novel gene therapy may be able to prevent a significant portion of them from forming.

A study published in Nature Communications indicates a possible genetic association between stomach ulcers and depression. The research found a genetic link between a susceptibility for peptic ulcer disease and psychiatric disorders such as major depression.

New research has found one in five people have a genetic mutation that confers greater resilience to cold temperatures. The study shows people with a deficiency generating a skeletal muscle protein shiver less and hold higher core temperatures in the cold.

Scientists have sequenced the genome of a “living fossil” from the time our ancestors first crawled out of the oceans. The Australian lungfish genome is the largest of any animal sequenced so far, revealing it to be our closest living fish relative.