Are viruses life forms or not? Scientists have been fighting about it for years, and Anthony has more on the latest wrinkle in this seemingly simple yet age-old debate.
Researchers from Australia have developed a genetic test that can predict an individual’s risk of developing Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). The test will be particularly useful to detect autism in people whose families have a history of the developmental disorder. ASDs are a group of developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral…
Scientists have demonstrated a new type of gene therapy that would – in principle – allow mothers to avoid saddling their children with rare diseases that could result in heart problems, dementia, diabetes, deafness and other significant health issues. The disorders in question are all due to mutations in one of the 37 genes in…
Given the dramatic difference in the size and sequence of the human X and Y chromosomes, it’s hard to imagine that they were once a perfect matching pair. But in fact all sex chromosomes start out that way. New research published in Science examines the early phase of sex chromosome evolution in a strain of…
If our universe slammed into a neighboring one during a growth spurt in its first second, the collision would have left a mark. And Matthew Kleban thinks he sees it in the most detailed snapshot yet taken of the dawn of the universe. The satellite image, released by astronomers in March, confirmed what an earlier…
Large volumes of the greenhouse gas methane could have been produced under the Antarctic Ice Sheet over millions of years, which could add to global warming if released into the atmosphere by a thaw, a study said. Scientists from the universities of Bristol, Utrecht, California and Alberta simulated the accumulation of methane in Antarctic sedimentary…
Sequencing DNA from individual cells is changing the way that researchers think of humans as a whole. Author Metanexus Editors