An international team of researchers has put together a new image of Neanderthals based on the genes Neanderthals left in the DNA of modern humans when they had children with them about 50,000 years ago. The researchers found the new information by trawling the genomes of more than 27,000 Icelanders. Among other things, they discovered…

Researchers describe an early detection method for pinpointing molecular signatures of the disease with high accuracy. Today, Lyme disease is a mounting health concern, with estimates of over 300,000 cases in the US annually. The illness, which produces a constellation of symptoms, has been notoriously tricky to diagnose. In new research, Joshua LaBaer, executive director…

Rice bioengineers harness the CRISPR/Cas9 system to program histones, the support proteins that wrap up and control human DNA, to manipulate gene activation and phosphorylation. The new technology enables innovative ways to find and manipulate genes and pathways responsible for diseases. Rice University researchers have achieved something of the sort with a new genome editing…

Researchers have successfully treated cancer in mice using metal catalysts that assemble anticancer drugs together inside the body. This study is the first report of therapeutic in vivo synthetic chemistry being used to make anticancer substances where they are needed simply by injecting their ingredients through a vein. Because this technique avoids indiscriminate tissue damage,…

With only 1 percent difference, the human and chimpanzee protein-coding genomes are remarkably similar. Understanding the biological features that make us human is part of a fascinating and intensely debated line of research. Researchers have developed a new approach to pinpoint adaptive human-specific changes in the way genes are regulated in the brain. Gene expression,…

Researchers report that new experiments with genetically engineered mice have found clear connections among a range of autism types and abnormalities in brain cells whose chemical output forges platonic feelings of love and sociability. The findings, the researchers say, could eventually fuel the development of autism therapies that target disease symptoms spurred on by abnormalities…

A serious case of the flu can cause lasting damage to the lungs. In a study in mice, researchers found that transplanting cells from the lungs of healthy animals enhanced healing in others that had had a severe respiratory infection. The scientists found that transplanting a certain type of lung cell from healthy mice to…

What you eat influences your taste for what you might want to eat next. So claims a University of California, Riverside, study performed on fruit flies. The study offers a better understanding of neurophysiological plasticity of the taste system in flies. The study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, offers a better understanding of neurophysiological…

In experiments with pregnant mice infected with the Zika virus, researchers report they have successfully used a long-standing immunosuppressive drug to diminish the rate of fetal deaths and birth defects in the mice’s offspring. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved medicine, anakinra, once commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases in newborns…