Around 45 percent of human DNA is made up of transposable elements, or TEs—genetic leftovers from now-extinct viruses that scientists once believed to be “junk DNA.” But that view is changing, and a ...

The human genome is made up of 23 pairs of chromosomes, the biological blueprints that make humans … well, human. But it turns out that some of our DNA — about 8% — are the remnants of ancient viruses ...

Although there are striking differences between the cells that make up your eyes, kidneys, brain and toes, the DNA blueprint for these cells is essentially the same. Where do those differences come ...

DNA sequencing is one of today's most critical scientific fields, powering leaps in humanity's understanding of genetic causes of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and diabetes. One issue facing the ...

Animals that hibernate are incredibly resilient. They can spend months without food or water, muscles refusing to atrophy, body temperature dropping to near freezing as their metabolism and brain ...

Learning to read and write is the beginning of literacy, a progression now mirrored in modern genomics. Scientists first read the human genome, a three-billion-letter biological book, in April 2003.

Twenty-five years ago today, on July 7, 2000, the world got its very first look at a human genome — the 3 billion letter code that controls how our bodies function. Posted online by a small team at ...

How does our DNA store the massive amount of information needed to build a human being? And what happens when it's stored incorrectly? Jesse Dixon, MD, Ph.D., has spent years studying the way this ...

Today, genomics is saving countless lives and even entire species, thanks in large part to a commitment to collaborative and open science that the Human Genome Project helped promote. Twenty-five ...