Genome

Researchers have managed to successfully edit the genes of lizards with CRISPR for the first time, turning them albino.

The human genome can tell us where we’ve come from, and it’s hiding more than a few surprises. Now researchers from the University of Adelaide have found evidence of two unknown, archaic human species in modern DNA.

Mitochondrial DNA in plants is so complex that scientists haven’t yet been able to edit the genes in there. Now a team of Japanese researchers has managed to do just that, which could help improve the genetic diversity of crops.

Humans are currently locked in an arms race against pathogenic bacteria – and we’re losing. Now scientists have identified the genes responsible for antibiotic resistance in a particularly dangerous superbug, and found a way to thwart them.

While exploring the “dark heart” of the human genome, geneticists have now found some of the most ancient pieces of DNA, inherited from Neanderthals and an as-yet-unknown human relative, which may be affecting our sense of smell to this day.

It’s no secret that tomatoes plucked from the supermarket aisles just aren’t that tasty. To find taste genes that could be spliced back into commercial crops, researchers have complied a pan-genome of all cultivated and related wild tomato species, uncovering almost 5,000 previously-unknown genes.

NASA has conducted a comprehensive study comparing the genes and biology of identical twins Scott and Mark Kelly, after Scott spent almost a year in space while Mark stayed on Earth as a control. And now the results of that study have finally been released.

CRISPR-Cas9 acts like a pair of molecular scissors and enables precise cut-and-paste DNA edits. But now, researchers have developed a new genetic tool that, they say, acts more like a motorized DNA “shredder.”

Scientists have created the first fully computer-generated genome of a living organism. Named Caulobacter ethensis-2.0, it was built by simplifying the natural code of Caulobacter crescentus. The team says this is a huge step towards creating completely synthetic life and medicinal DNA molecules.

Following a recent call for a moratorium on human germline gene editing, several scientists have pushed back, claiming prohibition is redundant and problematic. The WHO's panel on the topic also sidestepped the issue, instead recommending a central registry on human gene editing research be created.

To many of us, the great white shark is a mysterious and scary creature from the deep – but now it’s a little less mysterious. Scientists have sequenced the entire genome of the great white shark, revealing a few clues as to how these animals are so good at healing wounds and resisting cancer.

Honeybees are increasingly under threat. To help save these creatures from extinction, researchers from York University have found a group of genes that appears to be related to how hygienic a particular colony of bees is, and selective breeding for these genes could help fight colony collapse.