The modern dynthesis view that random genetic mutations and natural selection drive evolution has predominated in science for almost a century. More recently, experimental evidence, made possible by advanced technological methods, is challenging this view.
Clinical cytogenetics looks at the relationship of human disease and chromosomes, the long DNA molecules that contain an organism's genetic material. Historically, cytogenetics enabled the identification of the abnormal chromosomes responsible for Down syndrome and Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, among other discoveries.
An international group of scientists has tested the nearly neutral theory of evolution, proposed in 1973 by Japanese geneticist Tomoko Ohta. He predicted that natural selection will have a different evolutionary effect on species depending on the organism's population size.
Horizontal gene transfer is the movement of genetic material by means other than the transmission of DNA from parent to offspring. It can occur in both single and multicelled organisms, but has been most closely studied in bacteria, where there are three known ways that it can occur, transformation, conjugation and transduction.
More precise information about the roles genetics and environment play in determining disease is essential for better understanding and treating both common ailments and killer diseases.
Scientists have dated dinosaur tracks in China's Sichuan Basin to 218.4 million years ago, making them the oldest known in China.
Can a complex nonlinear world arise from a single universal wave function? This is the question asked by mathematician George F. Ellis, and his answer is "no."
Designing new enzymes to optimize their features for performing roles in research, biology and biomedicine has outstanding promise for advancing scientific capabilities.
Science fiction writes about and postulates alternative universes to ours, but these are fictional scenarios.
A key problem for mammalian biotechnology research is that transgenes, genes transferred from one organism to cells in the genome of another, can degrade over time, thus decreasing the transgene's effectiveness.
British philosopher Kathy Wilkes is one of those unsung academic heroes who quietly changed many lives and deserves to be better known.
Where the human species is headed and whether humanity is still evolving are tantalizing questions for scientists who study evolution as well as for non-specialists.
In evolutionary terms what happens when a terrestrial organism adapts to a marine environment? The recent discovery of a unique fossil turtle provides an unusual example of one such organism in transition from land to sea.
Understanding the mechanism of microscopic parasites that can sicken and kill humans and animals is essential for controlling their spread.
Five-hundred years ago, the great artist and engineer Leonardo da Vinci wrote, "The foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art."
How human beings developed the capacity for cognition has been a scientific topic of speculation for centuries.
Chronic excessive alcohol use is connected to an increase in the risk of cognitive decline and dementia, but how exactly does this occur?
Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is the most common hereditary autoinflammatory disease, mostly affecting people of Middle Eastern or Mediterranean origin.