Transposable elements are stretches of DNA that can move around the genome. Many of these DNA sequences originate from long ...

A new study from the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) in London, UK reveals how ancient viral DNA once written off as ...

All cells contain the same DNA but must turn specific genes ‘on’ and ‘off’ – a process known as gene expression – to create different body parts. The cells in your eyes and arms harbour the same genes ...

Researchers have gained new insights into the mechanism behind the spatial organization of DNA within the cells of early embryos. When an embryo is first formed after fertilization, each cell has the ...

Biologists have provided new insights on a longstanding puzzle in biology: How complex organisms arise from a single fertilized cell. Producing a new 'gene atlas' with 4-D imaging, the researchers ...

Ancient viruses are embedded everywhere in the human genome. Estimates range, but it's thought that about eight percent of the human genome could be made up of these ancient retroviruses, which are ...

Polydactyly, the presence of extra digits, is one of the most common congenital malformations of the limb. Recent genetic studies have significantly advanced our understanding of limb development by ...

Scientists at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) have discovered a DNA-based “dimmer switch” that regulates the activity of a critical developmental gene, Cdx2. This work could pave the way ...

A U.S. startup company is reportedly offering wealthy couples the chance to screen their embryos for IQ and other favorable genetic traits, which has raised ethical concerns. Heliospect Genomics is ...

Chromosphaera perkinsii is a single-celled species discovered in 2017 in marine sediments around Hawaii. The first signs of its presence on Earth have been dated at over a billion years, well before ...

A new study examines the embryogenesis and eye development of the cave-dwelling spider Tegenaria pagana, providing the first detailed description of its developmental stages. By analyzing gene ...